


Shadow & A Dancer

by Hikari_and_Yami



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:54:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 83,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5414165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hikari_and_Yami/pseuds/Hikari_and_Yami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forensic psychologist Atem Sennen gets the opportunity of his career when he's assigned to interview mass murderer and diagnosed sociopath Yugi Motou. But not all is what it seems. - Blindshipping -</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impressions

How on _earth_ had this man, who, at his full height, was no more than five feet five inches tall, managed to reek more havoc in a span of three months than anyone else in the entire history of Domino City? And Christ, if Yugi Motou wasn't the prettiest thing he'd ever seen – what, with round enticing amethyst eyes that took up his whole face, silky smooth skin that wrapped around his lithe yet toned frame, and long indulgent locks of raven black and honey blond hair that practically begged for someone to run their fingers through.

Wait – _this_ was the brutal mass murderer who eluded police for months on end only to walk into the FBI headquarters, hands in the air, and turn himself in?

 _"Seriously_?"

Atem blinked, accompanied by a well-concealed shake of his head.

Sure, he had seen pictures of the infamous sociopath on the news and in case files but, as Atem concluded right then and there, the images did not do the man justice.

Atem hadn't realized that he had verbalized the disbelieving sentiment aloud until the federal prison guard next to him turned to address him. "Don't underestimate him," he said. "I know he looks like he couldn't hurt a fly, but if you turn your back for even a second, he'll snap your neck and smile while he does it."

The guard gazed through the one-way mirror at the man who had accrued a larger body count than any spree or serial killer known to the city had ever done. Atem's eyes followed suit, and he watched with a sort of morbid curiosity as Yugi drummed his fingers on the table that the cuffs around his wrists had been chained to. Yugi's chair was turned halfway, giving Atem a clear view of the man's profile. Even from here, on the other side of the mirror, Atem could discern the expression Yugi wore for that of boredom with perhaps a touch of annoyance.

"I've been working here for over 10 years…" the guard spoke again, bringing Atem out of his reverie. "Never have I known an evil like him."

Atem responded with nothing more than a simple nod of his head as the guard unlocked the door leading into the consultation room. Atem allowed the mask that he reserved solely for these types of encounters to click into place as the door swung open. "We'll be right here if you need anything," the guard said. "Don't worry."

But Atem wasn't worried. Over the past five years under the employment of the Federal Bureau, he had done his fair share of interviews with serial killers and mass murderers alike to accrue a kind of confidence and composure that most others misplaced when confronted with the mind games and threats of bodily harm that people of this particular variety dished out.

When he walked in, Atem could see Yugi flick his gaze at him out of the corner of his eye. The drumming of his fingers stopped mid-air, as Yugi scanned him over once, then turned his body in the chair to face him completely.

" _Puh-lease_ tell me you're my new personal prison escort," the little sociopath opened with.

"I'm afraid not," Atem responded, not missing a beat. Walking towards the table, he pulled the seat out across from Yugi, the chair legs screeching against the old hardwood floor. He settled in the seat, placed his paperwork on the table, and adjusted his glasses, before addressing Yugi again. "My name is Dr. Sennen – "

"Oh god, _you're_ the shrink?" Yugi clicked his tongue and, crossing his arms lazily over his chest, leaned back in his chair, chains clinking against the cuffs around his petite wrists. "Pity," he muttered, gaze now on the cracks in the ceiling, not even trying to hide his disdain at the revelation.

"I am here to conduct a forensic interview –"

"Lovely. However, I have been informed by the sea - and I do mean _sea_ \- of shrinks before you that I have…" Yugi paused, his lips tilting and eyes narrowing in thought. "…oh, yes! An anti-social personality. That being so, you see, you must accept my candid noncompliance with this interview."

Atem refrained from rolling his eyes. He had expected the pushback, however, as Yugi hadn't agreed to speak openly with anyone since his arrest and subsequent conviction. "I'm sure your legal counsel has informed you of your mandatory cooperation with this interview," Atem said blankly.

"Mandatory." Yugi lifted a hand in the air dismissively, chain raising with it, then lowered his hand back to rest on his bicep. "A rather useless concept when you're unable to reinforce it."

Atem frowned, seemingly unimpressed. "Well, I don't see what the harm is. It would certainly aid in any appeal you may file – "

"Appeal?" Yugi laughed, his lavender gaze snapping down from the ceiling to once again focus on Atem's face. "Well, aren't you just delightful? Sweetheart – "

"Dr. Sennen if you could –"

"I can't." Yugi grinned. "Look. Precious. I've been convicted of one hundred and sixty two murders. I don't think I am in a place to appeal to anyone."

"Speaking of said murders –"

"Let's not and say we did."

"That's not how it works."

"Says who?" Yugi quirked an amused eyebrow, the corners of his lips twitching under threat of a smile. "You?"

"Well, for starters, you have been court-mandated to comply."

"Pah." Yugi rolled his eyes. "Look at all the fucks I don't give."

Atem suddenly understood why it took the jury less than fifteen minutes to return with a guilty verdict. "Well, this type of response is to be expected, I suppose, given your blatant defiance of authority."

Yugi dismissed Atem's words with another lift of his hand, waving him off and suddenly looking very bored. "Yes, yes, I'm also easily provoked, have a rather skewed view of right and wrong, and apparently a broken moral compass to match. Etcetera, etcetera. Really now, you must have better things to do than bother me with this bullshit."

Despite the way in which he bristled on the inside, Atem simply shrugged at Yugi and proceeded down a different avenue. "But don't you want others to hear your story?"

"Ah, appealing to my narcissism, are we?" Yugi chuckled. "Don't bother – I don't fancy myself all that much."

"It could perhaps provide closure –

"Spare me, doc, would ya? I would sooner flip the switch myself than have you try to appeal to my conscience right now."

Atem blinked. "Wow," he said before he could stop himself. "You're really a dick, huh?"

Silence.

Heavy, tense silence filled the room.

Atem inwardly flinched, but on the surface remained expressionless. With that accusatory remark, he had managed to back himself into quite an impressive little corner. He couldn't apologize for his words for it would have been a show of weakness, and Yugi would surely lose all respect for him if he did (if any ounce of respect existed in the first place, which Atem highly doubted). But Atem couldn't just start down a new line of questioning either until his comment had been addressed. So, he simply had to wait for the sociopath to respond.

At the moment, Yugi was staring at him, his eyes an almost negligible fraction wider than usual – the only hint that he was at all taken aback by Atem. A few moments later, he gave Atem an owlish blink. Then another one. Then, bit by bit, those pink lips stretched to make way for an absolutely dazzling smile. "Sennen, was it?" Yugi purred, as he slithered out of his seat and leaned forward over the table, the sound of metal scraping when the chains pulled tight and restricted Yugi from moving any closer.

"Come here, darling. Let me see that gorgeous face of yours up close."

"Yeah…" Atem pursed his lips with a small shake of his head. "That's not going to happen."

"Why?" Yugi gestured down to his hands with a small nod of his head. "You can't possibly be afraid of me. I'm cuffed." Yugi pulled at the chains again. "See?"

"Even so," Atem said, slowly. "I typically try to keep my distance between sociopaths. You all are a rather…volatile lot."

"Ha! Oh, I like you. I really, really do." The violet eyes shimmered, the younger of the two thoroughly enjoying their little interaction. "Do you really think that I couldn't get to you if I tried? Do you honestly believe that this table and these flimsy little chains would stop me?"

Atem's heart thudded under the implicit threat, but he was as composed as he'd ever been on the outside. "Perhaps not," he said coolly, with a small lift of his shoulders. "But I must inform you that I will defend myself if need be."

Yugi laughed, eyes sparkling all things dangerous. "You wouldn't last two seconds, doc. But... lucky for you, you have been the highlight of my time in this eternal hellhole. So, for now, I'll play good prisoner."

That being said, Yugi plopped down in his seat and, almost immediately, Atem felt his body lose some its tension. At this point, Atem probably could've moved onto a safer, less threat-inducing line of questioning. But Atem was known in his field for his ability to thread on thin ice with unfathomable ease. Best not fail his reputation, he supposed. "What would you honestly gain by killing me? What does the act of killing provide you?"

"Well, for one, it would stop your useless prattling." Yugi grinned. "Though I do find your voice hauntingly sexy."

Atem blinked, annoyed. He was getting absolutely nowhere with Yugi, and though he enjoyed a good ol' fashioned ' _this is like pulling teeth!'_ interview as much as the next guy, Atem knew when to call it quits. He had a low threshold for running around in endless circles. "You have made it clear that you do not intend to cooperate with this interview," Atem decided, standing to his feet and gathering his belongings in his hands, all the while ignoring the sudden glare Yugi was pinning him with. "So, I will document your refusal and be on my way. I wish you the best, Mr. Motou."

Heeding the guard's warning and relying on his own personal instincts, Atem walked away from Yugi at an angle, so that he did not have his back to him completely just in case the sociopath decided to make good on his threat.

" _Fine_."

Atem almost did falter under the abrupt break in silence, enough so that he paused in his retreat. Atem turned halfway from the door and observed Yugi's rigid body language complimented by his annoyed expression. "Fine, what?" Atem asked.

Yugi glanced at him sideways through narrowed eyes. "I'll answer your damn questions."

 _Really?_ Atem wanted to respond, but did his best to keep his surprise from shining through. "Okay," he said instead, as he retraced his steps back to his seat. He lowered down onto the chair, slowly, and placed his paperwork back onto the table. When he looked back up, Atem found those eyes watching him and took a moment to search the pools of violet to find the monsters that dwelled within them, not for the first time noticing the way Yugi's long thick eyelashes framed those irises of beauty and of death. What a beautiful disaster he was. What a breathtakingly god-awful man.

"Well?" Yugi hissed, pulling Atem out of his thoughts. "Don't you have some questions to ask me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a revision and reposting of S&AD. If this is your first time reading, I strongly encourage you to read from these new chapters that I am posting on A03 as they contain edits and revisions. Most of this story is complete, and I will be uploading at least a chapter a day until I am all caught up. Thank you for reading! And feel free to leave a comment below! :)


	2. Game Start

"He only threatened me like... four more times after that."

"Ha!" Malik Ishtar, Atem's long-standing supervisor, snorted, the man's lavender eyes bright with amusement. "Only?"

"Well, five if you include the threat on my cat's life."

"How'd he know you had a cat?"

"He guessed," Atem said, trying to balance his paperwork in one hand and his lunch in the other, as they weaved through the busy corridors of the Federal Bureau's headquarters, in the direction of Malik's office. "He said I looked like the 'kind of asshat' that would have a cat."

"Oh man, that's rich," Malik commented with a grin, as they approached his office. Bringing his cup of coffee to his lips and using his teeth to hold it in his mouth, Malik used his now free hand to open his office door, the other hand having been preoccupied with his own plate of food. "You denied it, of course?" the supervisor questioned once he removed the cup from his mouth, now using the curve of his back to hold the door open for Atem.

"Of course I did," Atem retorted with a small glare. He fumbled a bit with all of the items in his hands and cradled in his arms, but was able to set everything down on the round table in the center of the room without any mishaps. "Last thing I need is some lunatic trying to hunt down poor Mr. Whiskers. Damn cat has been through enough after the whole Bakura incident."

"Ah, yes!" Malik chuckled, closing the door with a purposeful flick of his hip. "How is our dear friend? Is he still sending you letters?"

"Yup," Atem sighed, popping the ' _p_ '. He was not nearly as amused with the whole ordeal as Malik seemed to be. "And before you ask, yes, he still wants to smother me in my sleep."

"Well, to be fair, your testimony did help send him away for thirty-three life sentences." Malik had the gall to shrug his shoulders. "Some people tend to hold a grudge over those kind of things."

"You don't say?" Atem sat down in the red-cushioned, tad old-fashioned chair in front of the table and slid his plate - full of fresh fruit and warm bread filled with deli meat - closer to him. "Well, since you seem to find this all rather hilarious, perhaps you should take on our next assigned client."

"Ah, you see, that's the great thing about being in charge, my dear Atem. I no longer have to be on the receiving end of verbal lashings from humanity's scum of the earth." Malik set his own lunch on the table, opposite of Atem, followed by his caramel leather-bound briefcase. "Anyways, you seem to forget that I spent many years in your very spot. I have paid my dues, thank you very much." Malik lowered himself to settle in his own chair and took another graceful sip of his coffee. "I must admit though, hearing these stories from you makes me miss the good ol' days sometimes."

"Hmm," Atem acknowledged, his mind now mostly focused on the food in front of him, the breakfast he had missed due to his childhood habit of waking up late now reminding him of the error of his ways.

Malik didn't even seem to notice the other's lack of input and continued on, "You know what I don't miss though? Dealing with those stiffs up in Ethics. Goddamn, they drove me crazy." Malik shook his head as if shaking off undesirable memories, the small movement allowing his wild blond locks of hair to brush against the sides of his face. "But I guess I don't see them nearly as much now that I don't do direct client work, so thank God for that."

At the mention of the Ethics Board, Atem refocused on the present conversation, right as he was stuffing a ripped off piece of bread in his mouth. "Speaking of Ethics... " Atem swallowed the rest of his sentence down alongside the chewed bread.

Malik raised a brow at Atem. " _Go on_ ," he implored.

"Well." Atem sat a bit straighter in his chair. "During the interview yesterday with Motou, I sort of... called him a dick."

The silence following his words was short-lived for the room was quickly filled with a fit of cackling laughter. Atem felt a burst of heat rise to his face - his supervisor very clearly amused at his expense.

"Yes. I know. Completely unprofessional. I'll try not to do it again. No, I don't need anger management. Yes, I will try to bite my tongue next time. Alright, good talk." Atem muttered all of this in a mocking tone, the slither of annoyance in his voice tangible, as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Can we move on, _please_?"

"Oh, no, no, no." Malik managed between laughs. "We _have_ to talk about this."

"Surely we have more pressing matters to attend to," Atem said, lips falling into a tight line.

"Wait - just wait a bloody second, would you?" Elbows now firmly on the table, Malik brought both his fisted hands to the sides of his face and grinned at Atem. "I'm still reeling over the fact that you called the most prolific mass murderer to date a dick. You, my friend, have officially drunk the koolaid."

"It was one of my more royal slip-ups, I admit," Atem assented. "And as you know, the Ethics Board is not particularly fond of me as it is."

It wasn't that Atem didn't do his job well. On the contrary, he did his job a little too well. There was even one point where he had three separate agencies fighting over him for his ability to connect with criminal cliental on their level, and therefore pull information from them in a brash yet artful and purposeful way.

But the Ethics board was not keen on his kind of... approach. Granted, he had tailored it over the years, and he was no longer so rough around the edges, having incorporated a higher level of patience and a more sturdy filter. But Atem was, by nature, a bluntly honest man with a low threshold for bullshit. Ironic, since this was something that was constantly fed to him from both his co-workers and his clients alike. Since he was young, Atem had been the type of person to call people out on their shit. Excuses were just that to him - excuses. He didn't expect remorse or empathy out of his clients or even out of those he knew outside of work. But he did expect people to, at the very least, acknowledge and take responsibilities for their actions.

"Screw 'em."

Malik's comment brought him out of his musings and, with a sigh, Atem picked up another piece of bread from his plate, breaking off little pieces to toss into his mouth. "Malik, you are fully aware that they can pull my license."

"Ha! Over my dead body."

Atem chuckled a bit at that. "I don't think you have the pull you think you do."

Malik lifted his shoulders. "Whatever. Bunch of pretentious tools, if you ask me." He popped a grape in his mouth. "Half of them have no idea what it's like to be in our positions, and they have the audacity to tell us what's ethical?"

"Well. To be fair, they are the _Ethics_ Board."

"Pah!" Malik waved his hand in the air. "Whatever. Point is, Motou talked. So, whatever you said or did, worked like a charm, no?"

Atem shrugged a shoulder, bringing a fresh strawberry to his lips and taking a bite of the delicious little fruit. "The problem is I don't think name-calling falls under therapeutic interventions."

Malik brushed him off again. "Don't fret about, alright? Even if the guards turned the intercom on from inside, which would have been a huge breach of confidentiality on Mr. Motou's behalf, then they probably would've been more inclined to give you a high-five than to report you to the board. I know you may feel a bit uneasy about it all now, but this is not the first time you've jump-roped with that line and it won't be the last."

Atem scowled, a tad indignant but also unable to deny it. "Jump-rope is different from leaping over it entirely."

"I suppose. You want some genuine supervisory advice? Be more mindful and keep that sharp tongue of yours in check." Malik tossed another grape into his mouth. "Unless he _really_ is being a dick."

"Malik - "

"Moving on." Malik reached towards Atem with a waiting open hand. "So, how much info did Motou divulge?"

Atem rolled his eyes at the abrupt change in topic, but followed along without protest. "Not a lot," he admitted, passing Malik the folder containing his notes from the interview.

Malik scanned over the notes silently, and Atem took the lapse in conversation to finish his lunch. When he returned to his seat after throwing away his plate, Malik was just closing the folder in his hand. "Nice," Malik commented with an appreciative nod. "No one's been able to get anything out of him since his arrest. He must like you."

Atem grimaced. "You could say that."

"Well let's add your information to the file and review it as a whole."

At Atem's nod, Malik opened his briefcase, still on the table, and pulled out a thick green binder from it's confines. Flipping open the cover of said binder, Malik's eyes focused on the comprehensive assessment section of the sheet in front of him. "From the beginning then," Malik said, cracking his neck to the side. "Yugi Motou is a twenty-four year old male with no significant past medical or psychiatric history. Trauma history includes a car accident at the age of 4 that left both of his parents deceased, though Motou survived with relatively few physical injuries. He spent the majority of his childhood in and out of foster homes until the age of fifteen, at which time he was taken in by a foster family that he stayed with until he aged out of the system at eighteen. At the time of his arrest, Motou was living by himself in a small studio just on the outskirts of the city.

According to Motou's friends, he was a charismatic, friendly teen and young adult that excelled in school. However, shortly after graduating from university, he became irritable and withdrawn, pulling away from all of his known friends and foster family members. He eventually cut off contact with them completely, despite their attempts to reach out to him. A few months prior to his arrest, Motou was admitted to the ER following a drug overdose, which the psychiatrist on-call believed to be a suicide attempt, though he never admitted to this.

When the first bodies started to appear around the city, police didn't connect them due to varying attributes of the victims. Because they were of all races, religions, and backgrounds, both female and males, around all ages - the youngest being 17, the oldest 56 - it was impossible for forensic psychologists at the time to make a sufficient profile. In fact, it was only by the brutal maiming of all the victims that they were able to link the cases together at all. There was no apparent motive for any of the murders, nor did Motou ever provide one. Though he refused to fill out any self-reports or psychiatric assessments, he exhibits almost all of the characteristics of sociopathy. Until now, he has declined to speak with anyone."

Atem processed the information easily, as he had heard it all many times before. It had always been baffling to both him and psychologists who had reviewed the case that Yugi had no previous reports of anti-social, disruptive, or unusual behaviors prior to the year that the murders actually begun, as these patterns of behaviors typically emerged in childhood or adolescence. He would have to remember to ask Yugi more about his childhood later.

"During the interview," Atem began, deciding that now would be a good point to jump in. "Motou confirmed that police have located all the bodies, despite suspicions that he had several dumping grounds. Rather crudely, he said that he could not be bothered with burying his victims. Despite the lack of forensic evidence, he stated that he never used gloves or took any kind of forensic counter measures. Also, he said that his victims were random. However, after that, he... declined to continue with the interview."

Malik lifted an eyebrow. "Declined?"

"In so many words." Atem shifted in his seat. "At least that's what I assumed 'go fuck yourself' meant." Atem snorted at the memory of his interaction with the little sociopath. "But Motou did agree to meet again tomorrow to continue the interview."

"Good. Hopefully you can get a bit more information out of him before he meets sparky."

Atem nodded, then slackened in his seat with a deep sigh, causing Malik to cast him a curious gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Atem said. "Just tired. Didn't sleep well last night."

"Well, make sure you get in some shut eye tonight. You got a big day tomorrow."

Atem pinned his supervisor with a small glare. "Don't remind me."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

 "Ah, there you are!"

Atem could've sworn Yugi sounded genuinely excited to see him. What did the little sociopath have up his sleeve today, Atem wondered. 

"And here I was starting to think that you had stood me up," Yugi continued, flashing Atem a playful wink.

Atem ignored the gesture. "I'm not in the habit of blowing off my clients," he said simply.

"Oh, so I'm _your_ client now?"

Atem had to give it to Yugi - that shit-eating grin was quite impressive. "I trust you are doing well, Mr. Motou," Atem said, placing his belongings down on the table.

"Mr. Motou is my father, and he's rather dead at the moment, so I'm not sure where that falls on the wellness scale," Yugi said, his grin never fading. "Call me Yugi."

It was very clearly a demand and not the request that Yugi's superficially friendly tone suggested. "Alright then. Yugi." Atem settled into his seat, opening one of the dark blue folders on the table to reveal several pictures of mangled, disfigured human remains. He slid two of the photos across the table towards Yugi. "John Doe #592A and John Doe #592B."

Yugi spared the two photos a bored glance before returning his gaze to Atem. "Rather unoriginal names if I say so myself."

"Are they yours?"

Yugi shrugged, giving the pictures another brief look. "I don't know. Though the first guy looks like a total asshole. If you ask me, someone did the world a favor."

"They were discovered off the I98 highway, near Exit 14," Atem said, choosing not to address Yugi's comments. "They were unable to be identified by police. Did you ever kill anyone at this location?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Think harder then."

Yugi's eyes sparked at this. "Can't," he said with a shrug. "Too distracted by that face of yours, doll. Your cheekbones are to _die_ for."

"I can get someone else to relieve me if it will help you focus."

"Oh, lighten up, doc," Yugi laughed, that crazy, untamed hair of his waving at Atem as his body shook alongside the small hiccups of giggles. "Geez, how do even sit straight with that stick shoved so far up your ass?"

Against his will, Atem was sure that his brow had twitched. "Do you find this all amusing?"

"Very much so." At Atem's blank stare and in the prolonged silence that followed, Yugi found himself rolling his eyes. "Alright, you win, sweetheart. I'll tell you what you want to know."

When Yugi did not continue, Atem pressed. "When?"

"When I feel like it."

"No," Atem said, setting a firm limit on Yugi. It was time that the ground rules for these interviews be established. He was certainly not going to be a willing player in one of Yugi's twisted games. "Tell me now."

"Oh, giving demands now, are we?" Arms folded over on the table's surface, Yugi leaned forward, his eyes lit like wildfire. "That's quite sexy on you, I'll admit, but I don't usually respond well to people telling me what to do."

"Well, I don't like being toyed with, Yugi."

"And you picked this field?" Yugi chuckled loudly. "Oh, honey, quite the masochist, aren't ya?"

"Surely you possess the capability to address me without the use of pet names?"

"Capability? Yes. Desire to? Not in the least." Yugi leaned away from Atem and back into his seat. "How about this? Let's compromise."

It was the words Atem had been waiting for.

Atem was very well aware of Yugi's need to manipulate and control every fucking possible situation and interaction. He honestly didn't expect Yugi to follow his initial instruction, but he was hoping that Yugi would come to some middle ground on his own, giving the sociopath some semblance of control over the situation. To say Atem was pleased with himself in the current moment was the understatement of the year.

"If you give it a fucking rest with all of -", Yugi waved his hand over the photos, "- this shit, then before you leave, I'll tell you what you want to know. Deal?"

Atem paused for dramatic effect, to make Yugi believe that Atem was the actual one compromising here. "Deal," Atem finally sighed out. Damn, he should have been an actor.

"Lovely," Yugi said, immediately brightening. "Now then. Let's chat about more interesting things."

"Like what?"

"Like you."

"I typically try to avoid self-disclosure."

"I typically try to murder all of my shrinks. Guess we're both stepping out of the box today."

"Well, while I appreciate your show of... restraint," Atem said, slowly, "I don't see how any information about myself can help you or this case. I'd much rather focus on -"

"Oh come on." Yugi pleaded, batting those pretty round purple jewels at him. "Nothing super personal, 'kay? Just basic fun facts about you, doc. For starters, tell me your first name."

"I think Dr. Sennen is sufficient for now."

"I don't like that."

"Clearly, since you refuse to use it."

"If you tell me your first name, I promise I'll use it plenty." When Atem shook his head in response, Yugi sighed, seemingly annoyed. "Fine, we'll start with something easier. Favorite color?"

"Why does it matter?" Atem questioned, actually curious.

"Its difficult to trust people I don't know," Yugi responded as though it was obvious. "What, with my whole 'inability to form healthy relationships' issue."

Yugi was so full of shit and, by the way those violet eyes glinted, the sociopath was well aware of Atem's opinion on the matter.

' _You tell a sociopath what they want, they'll rip your heart out and use it for sport_ ,' Malik had always told him.

But Atem figured that this would be an exception, since he was the one in control here...

Right?

"Blue," Atem finally said, much to Yugi's visible delight.

"Favorite type of music?"

"Classical."

"What a prude." Yugi glanced up towards the ceiling, obviously amused. "Favorite season?"

"Winter."

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Yugi moved forward in his seat again, closing the distance between him and Atem. "Next question: How do you like to fuck?"

"Excuse -?"

"I bet you love to hear your name." The words vibrated off of Yugi's tongue like a purr. "If you tell me your name, I promise I'll say it just the way you like it."

Atem had instantly tensed, his body reacting to the irritation boiling in his blood. "Let me be clear, Yugi: I have a high threshold for many things, but I will not tolerate your rather blunt manner of sexual harassment."

"Oh geez, what a fucking buzzkill you are." Yugi narrowed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, all traces of humor disappearing. "You know, on second thought, doc, I don't think I'm in the complying mood today."

"You made a deal," Atem reminded.

Yugi's laugh was as cold as a winter night. "Are you trying to be cute? I mean, I know you're not fucking dumb enough to believe anything I say."

Atem wasn't, but it didn't hurt to point out Yugi's inconsistencies. He shifted in his seat, enough so that the small deck of playing cards that he always carried on his person slipped out of his left pants pocket and onto the floor around his feet. He felt the smallest shift in the atmosphere as Yugi eyed the cards on the floor - a change that Atem readily jumped at.

"Do you like games, Yugi?" he asked, leaning over to collect the cards on the floor, all the while keeping his eyes on the other man.

Yugi's expression hardened. "They're useful for passing the time, I suppose."

A lie. 

"Oh, I see." Atem sat back up and shuffled the cards between his hands, observing the way the lilac eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Well I know how much you loathe these meetings as suggested by your crass noncompliance. Perhaps, you can humor me with a card game to pass the time with instead."

"Pfft." Yugi snorted. "Whatever."

But Atem wasn't an idiot, and he had been in this field for years. He was not blind to the way Yugi's eyes brightened or to the shadow of a smile that wasn't actually there.

And so, they played for a few rounds, Yugi winning each hand effortlessly, but it was the one time that Atem had bested him that Atem found Yugi truly engaged. In fact, when Atem had won, Yugi had leaned forward, eyes widening a fraction, and he seemed honestly impressed, though it was only evidenced by his body language.

After thirty minutes had passed, Yugi seemingly in another world as he played, Atem subtly began to converse again with the sociopath.

"You're very good, Yugi," Atem made it sound like an off-handed comment. "You are precise. And calculating."

Yugi chuckled absentmindedly. "I've been told the same about my method of killing."

"Hmm. I would disagree."

Yugi finally tore his gaze away from the cards on the table to blink up at him. "How so?" he asked, and he almost seemed genuinely curious.

"The explosiveness and level of frenzied brutality suggests impulsivity." Atem lifted a shoulder. "Which makes me believe that there was an absence of premeditation for any of your killings."

"Observant little fucker, aren't you?" Yugi scoffed, turning his eyes back to the game. He placed a monster card face up on the table and then, with a small lift of his chin, beckoned for Atem to go.

"Did your victims provoke you in any way?" Atem asked, taking his turn by placing a trap card face down on the table.

"I don't need provocation," Yugi said, voice harsher now. Warning-like.

Oh! There's that thin ice Atem loved treading on so much. He was beginning to wonder where it had scurried off to. "Well, why now? You have no reports of criminal or defiant behavior in the past. Something had to trigger this."

"No, I just got bored."

"You have to do better than that."

Yugi had stopped playing the game at this point, and Atem was well aware that he now held Yugi's undivided attention. "God, you shrinks are an absurd bunch. If you can't tell, I am not in the mood for your shit right now. Just play the damn game, would you?"

"Well, I don't think they're unfair questions. In fact -"

_Screechhhhhh._

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

That was the sound the chains made when Yugi shot up and out towards Atem, the chains connected to the cuffs around Yugi's wrists stopping his outstretched hands a few inches away from Atem. Almost immediately, the federal prison guards had emerged from the adjoining room, only stopping when Atem shot out an open hand back behind him to halt their approach. Yugi didn't even seem to register their presence, his dark ablazed eyes still locked with Atem's own careful and steady gaze. It was only after a painfully slow fifteen seconds that Yugi's hands lowered, his body leaning back and away from Atem.

"You have out stayed your welcome," Yugi hissed, settling back in his seat. He nodded his head towards the door. "Time to go, doc."

This may have been the first time in Atem's past two interactions with the other that he whole-heartedly agreed with Yugi. He had pissed off the sociopath enough to last him a week, he was sure of it.

Cautiously, Atem gathered the cards on the table into a neat stack and pocketed them, still noting the presence of two guards by the door. Then, he shifted his focus back to Yugi, one last question still weighing on his mind. Atem decided right then and there that he liked to gamble far too much.

"The two men?"

Yugi watched Atem, eyes no longer on fire but still simmering. After a moment of consideration, Yugi broke their eye contact to stare off at the side wall instead. "I don't know their names. I never knew any of their names." Yugi's voice was harder than before. "And I never did get in the habit of collecting trophies."

Atem felt his chest constrict ever-so-slightly. "So, a whole lot of nothing?"

Yugi didn't even blink. "Did you really expect anything else?"

"No," Atem answered, honestly. "I guess I didn't."

Atem stood to his feet, the sound of the legs of the chair against the floor foreshadowing his exit to come. He collected his belongings and had only taken one step towards the door when Yugi's voice floated to his ears once again.

"You said Exit 14?"

Atem turned back around to Yugi, eyebrows furrowing due to his surprise by the question. He nodded and waited for Yugi to continue.

"I spent a lot of time at Duke's Bar," the sociopath informed the psychologist. "They might recognize them - or at least know if any of their regulars have suddenly vanished off the face of the earth."

Even after it was clear that that was all Yugi was going to say on the matter, Atem stayed glued in his spot. He was genuinely confused. Sociopaths didn't willingly help the police or anyone associated at all with the legal system, unless of course there was some kind of benefit in it for them. Why was Yugi telling him this? What did he have to gain from this?

Yugi must have seen his struggle to reconcile this all written on his face, for the smaller man turned in his chair completely to look at Atem. "It does not matter to me if you identify them," Yugi said icily. "I'm not telling you this because I want to help you or because I want to give 'closure' to their families." Yugi tilted his head to the side. "Don't you see? It's all very simple," he said, looking back towards the wall, the piercing pearl eyes leaving Atem's face. "I just don't fucking care."

It took a few seconds but Atem eventually nodded, accepting Yugi's explanation for the time being, but putting it on the back-burner to bring up with Malik later on. He began to retreat to the safety of the adjoining room, mentally patting himself on the back for his ability to remain in control and keep himself from expressing his reactiveness throughout the interview.

He didn't realize that Yugi was not quite done yet.

"See you soon, _Atem_."

That did it.

Genuine surprise playing with the tiniest tendrils of fear that forced Atem to visibly falter in his steps. He spun around, perhaps a little too quickly, to stare at the sociopath. "How did you – ?"

"Don't insult me," Yugi said, shooting him a side glare with a subtle raise of a brow - a look that conveyed a clear message to Atem.

_Are you having fun yet?_


	3. Change of Pace

The next month was nothing short of hell for Atem.

Never in his twenty nine years of life had he met someone quite as maddening as Yugi. He swore that the man was making _him_ crazy at this point. And it was all due to their disastrous meetings of epic proportions that had only ever ended in one of two ways: either with Atem fuming in his own invisible bubble of vexation for the entire rest of the day or with Yugi lashing out to the point of requiring either meds or (twice now) five-point restraints.

How many times, Atem thought to himself, had he stalked into Malik's office, his hands fisted in his hair, and proclaimed that he would sooner quit his job and move to another country – no, another _continent_ – than ever meet with Yugi again? And how many times had that godforsaken little shit told him that if he ever saw Atem's face again that he would break Atem's fingers off one by one and _feed_ them to him?

Atem paused in his pacing to re-adjust the ice pack that he was holding to the sore underside of the back of his head, an injury caused by Yugi's latest stunt two days earlier when Yugi – the little infuriating asshole that he was – shot his body down and underneath the table at lightning speed and hooked his feet around the legs of Atem's chair, flipping the psychologist over and knocking Atem out cold for a full minute. By the time Atem had come to, Yugi was bent over the table, face down, and being held in place by five federal prison guards, while a nurse attempted to stick him in the arm with a sedative.

And then, of course, _there_ was Yugi, laughing his fucking head off the _entire_ time.

Well, at least, until he had succumbed to the meds.

Atem inwardly scowled at the memory, finding only a small amount of comfort in the fact that Yugi would now be sporting matching cuffs around his ankles in all their future meetings.

 _Dick_.

Atem resumed his pacing in front of his supervisor's desk, almost as if his sole intent was to create a groove in the carpeted floor. All the while, Malik was doing quite an award-worthy job of ignoring his silently seething protégé in favor of typing up Atem's most recent notes to incorporate into Motou's electronic files.

Throughout the past month, safety precautions had been put into place to ensure Atem's well-being in the face of Yugi's ever-growing volatility – all of which seemed to do little to deter the sociopath given the events that unfolded in this most recent meeting. For starters, two guards were now always posted by the door _inside_ the consult room (after signing confidentiality waivers, of course) to ensure that Yugi was able to be quickly subdued if necessary (" _A lot of fucking good that did_ ", Atem had spat at Malik only hours after Yugi had bashed his head into the hardwood floor).

In addition, the warden implemented a new daily schedule for Yugi to adhere to in order to keep Bakura – a previous client of Atem's, infamous for his grudge-holding ability and psychopathy – and Yugi separated during yard time after it had come to light that Bakura had been feeding Yugi intel about Atem.

If this had been any other case, any other client, Atem would've been pulled weeks ago. But Yugi was smart. He was as clever as they came, and he knew how to play the game. During each meeting, Yugi made sure to divulge selective information regarding his life and his crimes to Atem – just enough info, in fact, that the chain of command (Malik included) couldn't justify terminating the sessions just yet.

 _What did Yugi have to gain from disclosing information to him?_ Atem had asked himself not long ago.

Attention, card games, and the ability to ruin Atem's day.

That's what the little fucker got.

It actually drove Atem positively mad once he realized exactly what Yugi was doing, and he sometimes became pretty persistent in his refusal to ever meet with the sociopath again following one of their surely chaotic sessions. However, in his moments of clarity and calm, Atem was very attuned to the fact that this was the case of the century, an opportunity of a lifetime for someone in his field, and he would be a fool to not take advantage of it.

But _goddamn_ , Yugi was off his fucking rocker half the time.

Especially, Atem had noted both mentally and in his notes, as of this last week. Which was interesting given Yugi's sudden influx of vocalized complaints in regards to his increasing exhaustion and sleep-deprivation. In fact, the more tired Yugi complained of being, the more manic he seemed to become.

A low wince escaped Atem's lips when, in all his musings, he pressed the ice pack a little too harshly against the still tender spot on the back of his head.

"I'm gonna kill him," Atem hissed, removing the cold compress all together and tossing it down on the round table in the center of the room.

Malik, pen wedged in between his teeth, didn't even spare him a glance. "You'd be saving the taxpayers a shit ton of money," he offered, attempting to placate the other man. "When is your next meeting with him?"

"God if I know," Atem muttered, slinking down onto one of the red-cushioned chairs across from his supervisor. "He told me if I ever tried to meet with him again, he'd break my face in."

"He certainly tried to."

Atem shot him a glare. "Not funny." But in another universe, maybe even in another time frame, Atem would've found this all hysterical. He exhaled a long breath through his nose. "I'm thinking about taking a vacation," he mumbled.

Malik finally glanced away from his laptop screen to look at him. "That's nice. Where to?" he asked, removing the pen from his mouth.

"Frankly, I don't really care. Though, preferably somewhere sunny." And somewhere far, far away from wide violet-eyed sociopaths.

Malik nodded and let his eyes wander back to the bright screen. "Something to look forward to after this all blows over, I suppose."

Atem raised an eyebrow at the obvious miscommunication. "Oh, no, I meant like... next week."

"No can do, 'Tem," the supervisor tisked.

"And why the hell not?" Atem snapped even though he already knew the answer. "I have more than enough vacation days accrued."

Malik slid his gaze towards him and gave Atem his best 'Don't be an idiot' stare.

But Atem returned the look with a hardened glare of his own, making the decision to stand his ground even though he knew it was futile. Honestly, at this point, he really just wanted to argue for the sake of arguing in hopes that it would relieve some of his pent up frustrations that, like his vacation days, had been accruing these past few weeks. From what he could tell, Malik saw right through him for his supervisor was more than happy to oblige him in picking a fight.

"I'm sorry, were you going to be the one to tell Motou that you're taking an impromptu vacation?" Malik questioned, his tone emphasizing the absurdity of Atem's request. "He is unstable on a daily basis as is, and I certainly won't be the one to tell him that you're pulling a Houdini. You know that you are the only person he will speak to. Seriously though, who would you expect me to send in your place?"

"God, send in Seto for all I care."

"Ha, one of them would be dead by the end of the session and you know it. And, not that your ego needs anymore stroking, but I honestly don't trust anyone else with this case." Malik began his typing again, signaling his inevitable victory. "No, you're stuck with him until he has nothing left to contribute."

Atem knew that if he wanted to, he could easily go over Malik's head. Nowhere in his job description did it include a stipulation that he had to tolerate verbal (and sometimes physical) assault from his clients. At this point, he had more than enough grounds to refer Yugi to another psychologist. But Yugi's case, as prolific and infamous as it was, would be referred to in both textbooks and training seminars alike for decades to come. Atem would have to be insane to relinquish such an opportunity to someone else and Malik, being the great supervisor and even better friend that he was, wasn't going to allow Atem the chance to do so.

But even still, Atem wanted to protest at least one more time. Just for shits and giggles and pent-up frustrations sake. "But Yugi is _always_ going to have something else to contribute. He knows exactly what he has to do and say to get me to come back. Oh, and let's not forget that it's only been three months since his sentencing. The average length of stay on death row at that prison is five years. This could literally go on forever."

"Okay, first off, its not my fault that your little sociopath wants to string you along for the ride. Secondly, the nationwide average for time spent on death row is fifteen years, so you should count your blessings. And lastly, don't use the word 'literally' figuratively. You know how much of a pet peeve of mine that is."

"Ugh! Alright, alright." Atem raised his hands in defeat, his expression beyond exasperated. "But mark my words, Malik. He will be the end of me."

"Uh-huh," Malik mumbled, turning his attention to his now shrieking desk phone. He already wasn't going home on time today given the shitload of paperwork he had to review, document, and sign off on. Add Atem's pissy mood into the mix, and Malik's patience was wearing as thin as a sheet of nearly cracked ice. At this very moment, the shrilling wail of the device was like an ugly reminder of all he still had to do and was the sole reason why he tore the phone from its holder and, with a snap equivalent to a rubber band breaking, hissed a harsh " _What?_ " into the receiver.

There was a minute of silence, as Malik listened to the words filtering through the phone. Atem, slumped over in his chair, was barely paying him any attention at this point, his focus only partly on the muffled words filling the air around Malik's head. It was only when Malik's expression took on a gravely serious edge that Atem's attention honed in sharply on his supervisor.

"Okay," Malik murmured into the phone, his face having lost some of its color. "I got it."

Atem waited until Malik had slowly placed the phone back in its holder to speak. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"It's Motou," Malik replied almost immediately, his voice quiet and just a bit too tight, as if someone had stretched a brand new rubber band just for him. "He's requesting to see you."

"Ah. Right. Of course he is." Fickle fuck that he was. Atem pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "I'll meet him in the - "

"He's in the hole."

Atem let his hand fall from his face to blink up at Malik. "Solitary?" he clarified. "Why, what did he do?"

But Malik's face said it all.

"Oh _god_ , what did he _do_?"

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

The M.P. Federal Prison, nestled in the center of a lush landscape filled with winter greens and autumn reds, bordered just on the outskirts of Domino City. The newer addition to the host of federal prisons spread out throughout the United States was well-known for its more contemporary appearance and modern amenities. Cells were a tad wider, painted cement walls a touch brighter, and prisoners markedly more well-behaved due to the incentive program that the entire prison operated upon. Even Death Row was run on a modified, less restrictive schedule with inmates housed in this section of the prison allowed six hours of out time compared with the two to four hours granted at similar penitentiaries.

Contrary to initial beliefs that such freedoms and leniencies would make the number of injuries and deaths skyrocket, the M.P. Federal Prison made waves across the country for reporting record-breaking numbers for the lowest incidence rates of... well, incidents. People were flabbergasted at first by the results of such a novel systematic design but, when it came down to it, it simply was human psychology at its best. When compared to other prisons, the inmates at M.P. had access to cleaner showers, more comfortable bedding, and higher quality food. They earned privileges for good behaviors, such as computer usage, longer visitation hours, or extra time in the yard. It all came down to a simple formula, really.

Happier prisoners made for more cooperative prisoners.

However, at the end of the day, it was still an establishment that housed thieves, rapists, and murderers alike. That being so, there was another section of the prison – a carved out little piece of the building reserved solely for those inmates restricted to solitary confinement, where prisoners were kept locked in their noticeably less furnished and spacious cells from twenty-three to twenty-four hours a day.

It was in this section of the prison that Atem had found himself in, standing in front of one of the sliding metal cell doors with Malik by his side, as he peered into a small eye-level slot secured tightly with a layer of see-through plexiglass. The cell itself was equipped only with the necessities: a concrete bed covered by a mattress that stuck out of the side wall, a small, unmovable stool on the opposite side, and a stainless steel toilet and sink tucked away in the farthest corner. And there, stalking back and forth between the walls, violet eyes darker than Atem had ever seen and terrifyingly hollow, was Yugi.

"He murdered four inmates and one of the guards."

Atem didn't make a move to acknowledge the prison administrator next to him for two reasons. The first is that he was already aware of what Yugi had done to end up here. The second and more important reason was because he couldn't tear his attention away from Yugi's downcasted blank stare for even a second.

The spark, that fire that always seemed to brighten up those all-consuming amethyst eyes... it was just gone. Not flickering, not fading away. Gone. Extinguished. Lifeless. Dead.

They were just completely and utterly… empty.

And the way those eyes churned and twisted at his insides was the single most unsettling feeling Atem had ever known.

"I need to speak with him," Atem spoke, only then turning his attention and gaze, albeit reluctantly, to address the administrator. "Now."

"Motou is not allowed any visitors at this time," the burly man replied without hesitation. "Warden's orders."

Without his conscious consent, Atem bristled. "Yugi requested to speak with me. I am his psychologist. You cannot deny his right to see me."

"The last time I checked, legal counsel was the only one with that privilege. Sorry you made the trip," even though he clearly wasn't, "but until I get the green light from above, no one goes in here."

Atem opened his mouth to argue, but one look from Malik stopped him in his tracks. So, literally biting his tongue (and this time, he actually meant that he had to clamp his teeth around his tongue to keep himself from protesting further), Atem shifted his focus back to Yugi, the man who, in all his unnatural composure, was taking long, precise strides back and forth within the small cell with what could only be described as a sort of eerie gracefulness. He looked so different - even his hair seemed wilder, more unkept and tousled than Atem had previously thought was possible. There was something so off with the image, so unbalanced about it all, that Atem felt as if the very floor he was standing on had slanted.

Atem could have lost himself in the surrealness of it all, and he sort of did. At least, until Yugi had reached the corner of the room, pivoted on his feet, and raised his head to meet his gaze.

Atem's throat itched with a trapped breath when those unblinking, bone-chilling eyes found his and, in that very moment, Atem didn't recognize Yugi - that gaze he had become so accustomed to, so familiar with the past month, suddenly was a sight he'd never seen before. Atem felt his need to breathe intensify, but he couldn't force himself to inhale – especially not when Yugi titled his head to the side and, with a smile slowly splitting his face in half, waved at him.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Despite his multiple confrontations with the warden throughout the week, it was a full ten days before Atem was allowed to see Yugi.

The sociopath now under strict orders to remain in his quarters at all times (other than to bathe), Atem felt as if he had no other choice when he walked into Yugi's cell, red flags swinging and alarms blaring, even with the two federal prison guards accompanying him.

When the metal door slid open, Atem's eyes immediately locked onto the bed Yugi was lying on, the younger man gazing at the cracks in the ceiling with his hands resting comfortably on his stomach and his right leg bent at the knee so that the bottom of his foot was pressed flat against the mattress. The gray prison jumpsuit Yugi always wore was more wrinkled than usual, and his skin paler than he remembered. But Atem inhaled a deep breath (of relief?) anyways when those tired purple eyes wandered down from the ceiling to look at him, that spark they so often held barely visible under the clouds of exhaustion - but at least it was back. 

Yugi only held his gaze for a moment, before peering back up at the ceiling.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in and pissed all over."

Atem didn't even bother to shake his head at the greeting. "Nice to see you, too," he said, before he gestured to the guards. "They need to - "

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Still lying down and gaze upwards, Yugi raised his hands in the air, pressing the inside of his wrists together over his head.

Taking the cue as that of compliance, the guards moved forward with the utmost caution and clicked a shiny pair of handcuffs around Yugi's wrists, doing the same around his ankles once Yugi had lowered his bent leg.

Atem watched this all from the door, silent in his observation. He subconsciously stood a little straighter when the guards backed away from Yugi and half-turned to address him.

"Do you want us to stay in here with you? We could also wait outside the door and watch from the security feed. It is up to you."

Atem felt this weird urge to tell them that if they did stay then their presence would just be for show; that if Yugi wanted to get to Atem, then he would do so before they could react - that somehow, someway, that small man would ruin him. But Atem didn't say that. Instead, he politely declined their offer to stay and watched as the metal door slid open again to let the guards escape what was surely some fucked up version of a death trap. He must have looked crazy, he mused. They must have thought he was absolutely batshit insane to agree to be alone in a room with Yugi after what had just happened. Honestly, in the momentary silence that filled the cell following their departure, he was reconsidering the decision himself. He must be losing his goddamn mind.

Even with eyes still glued to the ceiling, Yugi read him like a book. "No worries, doc," he spoke, lifting his now bound hands in the air once more. "I'm cuffed."

"You've proven on multiple occasions that the cuffs are very much irrelevant," Atem muttered, telling Yugi what they both already knew. "If you desire to do so, you will try to hurt me."

"True," Yugi assented. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "But I am currently lacking a desire to do so. I am rather... spent at the moment."

Never in any of their previous interactions had Atem ever seen Yugi so mellow, so calm. He wasn't sure if the other's lack of energy made him feel better or worse, but he did allow his body to lose some of its rigidity. Even so, his instincts and defenses remained on high alert, as he was painfully aware of the haphazardness of the situation, the potential for it all to go very, very wrong.

Atem made the decision to settle onto the stool to his close left. He made a mental note that even though it was on the complete opposite side of the cell from the bed, Yugi could have reached him in three steps. Easy.

"You've created quite a mess for yourself," Atem began wearily.

"Oh, well, what's another few charges on my sheet? Besides, I've already been sentenced to death. What more can they do to me?"

"Take away all your privileges, isolate you from everyone, keep you locked in a cell 23 hours a day," Atem said, listing off the immediate few that came to mind.

Yugi only shrugged. "I don't much like other people. I don't think I'll mind the hole all that much."

Atem noticed with a bit of latent surprise that Yugi had yet to look at him again since his entrance. "Yugi," he said, trying to see if he could get the sociopath to meet his gaze, but to no avail. "What happened last week?"

Yugi's response was immediate. "I didn't get enough sleep."

"What?"

"I get ridiculously cranky when I'm tired. You'd think you would know that given that I knocked you out cold during our last meeting. To be honest, I'm surprised you're even here. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again after that."

"But you saw me..." Atem trailed off. That didn't make any sense. Yugi clearly saw him last week when Atem had attempted to meet with him the day that Yugi had been moved down to solitary. "Wait, when did you last see me again?"

"Oh geez, are you getting old, doc?" Yugi hissed, finally sparing a brief annoyed look his way. "Last week, you tool. When I tried and clearly succeeded in giving you a concussion."

Atem blinked. "You mean, you don't remember seeing me down here last Wednesday?" Atem tilted his lips, eyes squinting with hints of confusion. "You looked right at me," he reminded, slowly. "You waved at me."

Yugi hesitated, his expression momentarily cracking to show a flicker of recognition. But he was able to compose himself so quickly that his lapse in the conversation would have surely gone unnoticed by untrained eyes and ears. "I guess you're just not that memorable," he mumbled, scoff-like, looking up and away from the psychologist again.

Atem paused for a minute, a testament to the fact that he wasn't buying it. "Yugi," he spoke again, brows furrowed. "Do you ever find yourself losing track of time?"

"Nope," Yugi quipped, smacking his lips together.

But Atem sensed bullshit like a sixth sense. "Yugi, I'm serious. Have you ever... experienced blackouts before? Like waking up somewhere and not knowing how you got there? Or being in one place one minute and - "

"Doc, I am _so_ not in the mood for this shit."

"You know, to be honest Yugi, neither am I," Atem suddenly snapped, surprising both of them. "Those inmates you killed, that guard you killed, they had families. They were fathers, brothers, and sons. Now I don't expect you to give a damn, but at least acknowledge that I am trying to find a better answer as to why they had to die beyond you just not getting your fucking beauty sleep."

In the silence that followed, Yugi finally ripped his gaze away from the ceiling and, placing both hands on the mattress beside his chest, he swung his legs off the edge of the bed and pushed himself up and into a sitting position. When he looked at Atem again, his eyes were still tired, but they were now holding onto the dullest of glitters.

"Ha," Yugi exhaled, and it almost sounded like a sigh. "You know, no one has ever talked to me the way you do..." He rolled his shoulders, loosening the muscles there. "No one is foolish enough to."

Atem pursed his lips, his body stiffening on its own accord at Yugi's change in position. "Uhh.. is this supposed to be some kind of compliment?"

"No. You're just a fucking idiot."

"Yeah," Atem muttered with a barely noticeable roll of his eyes. "Figures that was where this was heading."

Yugi chuckled and shot Atem his most amused and engaging smile and, despite all his effort to do so, Atem couldn't catch the thought before it entered his mind: how could a man this innocently radiant, this stunningly beautiful, cause so much destruction? Be the reason for so much despair? The senseless violence that occurred last week, the loss of lives without logic or rationality, was the way of the sociopath. But still, Atem couldn't stop himself when the one word question slipped past his lips and into the air around them.

"Why?"

Yugi regarded him for a moment, eyes flickering like purple embers with chaotic blue swirls, and then in the most curious of tones asked him, "Why not?"


	4. Dangerous Territory

"Tell me about your childhood."

"What's there to tell?"

"Well. Do you remember your parents?"

"I don't want to talk about them."

"So, yes then?"

An annoyed sigh. "Yes, of course I remember my parents, you asshat."

"Is it hard for you to talk about them?"

"No. They just have nothing to do with this."

"One's childhood and the manner in which they were raised often shapes the way they perceive the world; their attitudes, their ideals, their morals. Your background is a vital - "

"Sounds like a whole lot of bull and a way for you shrinks to find someone to blame when bad things happen. Contrary to what some may think, my parents were good people. Foolishly kind. Stupidly carefree." A loose shrug. "There's no one to blame for why I am the way I am, dear."

"I'm not looking for someone to blame, Yugi. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of how you were brought up, and how your environment influenced and impacted the person you are today." A tentative pause. "Do you remember the accident?"

"For fuck's sake. New topic. Now."

"Okay then. What would you like to discuss today?"

A sly smile. "You."

"You already know far more about me than I think is appropriate."

The statement was ignored. "Why aren't you afraid of me, Atem?"

Reframe and deflect. "Is it important to you that others are afraid of you?"

"No. I'm just curious." The handcuffs clinked together as his hands moved to shuffle a deck of cards. "You know, you kinda remind me of Jou."

"Jou? Your foster brother?"

"Yeah, he was always sticking his nose where it didn't belong, too. Yeah... he was a peach, alright."

"Well, we took the scenic route, but I'm glad that we're back to your childhood."

"You're a fucking riot, you know that?"

A raise of an eyebrow. "Pot, much?"

"Only if you're my kettle."

The urge to roll his eyes was strong. "Tell me more about Jou. You two were close, right?"

"I guess so."

"I heard that he came to court every day during your trial."

"You know, I honestly couldn't tell you. Really wasn't paying attention all that much."

"Well, could you talk a bit about what your relationship with him was like prior to your arrest?"

"No."

"Could you try?"

"Hell no."

A frustrated blink. "Are you intentionally being difficult?"

"Why, of course, my dear." A flick of his wrist. "But I'm bored again. New topic."

"But - "

"You know, they say that long exposure to solitary confinement makes people crazy… or _crazier_. Apparently, lots of inmates start seeing things. Others hear voices. Some can't deal with the isolation, so they take matters in their own hands and off themselves. It's rumored that their spirits roam these very cells, because their souls are trapped and forever at unrest."

"I don't believe in ghost stories, Yugi."

The sociopath's eyes lit up like purple fire. "You should."

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Yugi's erratic behavior had stabilized some in the weeks that followed his deadly assault of four fellow inmates and one federal prison guard.

Sessions weren't nearly as volatile, and Yugi presented as more calm and markedly less manic than he had just prior to the attacks. Malik proposed to him that Yugi's decrease in aggression was due to his release of what one could only assume were months and months of pent-up hostility, given the fact that Yugi hadn't been able to indulge in his murderous fantasies since his arrest. Even so, the change in behavior and affect came as a surprise to Atem and, for one reason or another, he found himself not quite satisfied with the explanation his supervisor had provided him with.

Ever since Yugi's move to solitary, Atem had been placed on a specific schedule as determined by both Malik and the prison warden. Before, he had been meeting with Yugi two to three times a week. But now, he was only allowed to meet with Yugi once a week which, to everyone's credit, was working out well for both psychologist and sociopath. Yugi seemed to function better on a set schedule, and he appeared more hesitant to act out or to abruptly end sessions with the understanding that if he did so then Atem wouldn't be able to return for another week.

And Atem, well, he found the extra time in between sessions refreshing, which put him in an overall better mood and thinking space when the time came to meet with Yugi again.

The lighter schedule also gave Atem more time to process and make sense of the bond he found himself developing with Yugi, despite how downright infuriating the younger man could be at times (but really like, all the time).

Now, the actual act of bonding with a client was nothing new to Atem. In fact, in his field, it was called 'therapeutic rapport', and it came with the territory when you spent weeks and sometimes months on end having someone (however reluctantly) open up to you and share the deepest and darkest parts of their lives with you. It was often something that people outside his field found hard to swallow - after all, who could find any middle ground, any connection, with a psychopath or a serial killer?

Over time, Atem had found it easier to avoid or ignore questions like these all together, as it had become clear that only someone in his position, in his shoes, could truly understand the inexplicable normalcy in connecting with someone who was so unlike you and so against everything you stood for.

So, no, it wasn't the bond itself that bothered him, but instead it was his recognition that the bond he shared with Yugi felt slightly different in nature than those he had formed in the past with previous clients. To be honest, he didn't exactly know _how_ it was different or _why_ it was different. He just knew that it was, and sometimes he felt compelled to just leave it at that.

He and Yugi had now gotten to a point in their relationship with one another that it almost felt like there existed an unspoken contract between them - one that was never actually verbalized but, at the same time, had been silently agreed upon. It was an implicit understanding that enabled Atem (for an _impressive_ lack of better words) to feel relatively _safe_ in Yugi's presence, even in the face of verbal threats or menacing gestures.

Of course, this gut feeling all waged war with the instinctual knowledge that Yugi was, at his core, a mentally disturbed individual. As a sociopath, Atem was aware that Yugi was bound by no law, no contract, no oath, and that he would most likely not think twice in hurting Atem if he so wished to.

But that was the thing.

At times, it almost seemed as if Yugi truly didn't want to hurt Atem.

Atem sighed and shook his head, trying to rid himself of this rather ludicrous line of thinking as he raised his arms and allowed one of the federal prison guards to scan his limbs with a metal detector. However, to his dismay, the shaking head motion brought with it a new bunch of muddled thoughts, because beyond all of this, what Atem genuinely struggled with week in and week out was his inability to reconcile the impulsive, playfully chaotic Yugi he had come to know on the surface with the murderous, heartless sociopath that Atem knew he really was deep down. After all, he had seen the pictures, he had heard the stories, he had witnessed the emotionless and haunting expression on Yugi's face in the devastating aftermath of his most recent murders. So then, why did he find it so difficult to accept that these two sides of Yugi were one in the same?

And why did Yugi shut him down every time Atem dared to suggest the notion of possible blackouts?

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

The key to Yugi's heart - or rather, his defenses - were games.

Despite his incessant complaining whenever Atem suggested they play a few rounds of cards, it didn't take a genius to notice how Yugi's mood almost immediately brightened and his willingness to discuss his past nearly doubled at the prospect. It had become a sort of strategy that Atem had utilized whenever Yugi was becoming increasingly difficult or disengaged, and it had an approximate 50% success rate which Atem would gladly take any day. In fact, given that Atem had won their last game, he fully expected Yugi to request a rematch today, knowing by now that Yugi was quite the competitive freak of nature.

As Atem walked down the prison corridor, he realized that it had been almost three weeks since Yugi had last lashed out at him. It was a realization that took him by surprise. So much so that when he walked into Yugi's cell to see the man sitting cross-legged on the floor, head tilted and staring up at him with what Atem could only describe as a quizzical look, Atem couldn't help but point it out.

"You know, you haven't threatened me in _weeks_." Atem could've laughed at the absurdity of it all. "My little sociopath must be going soft."

Atem did not have time to comprehend his royal slip up, the use of the word 'my', for Yugi had suddenly burst into a loud fit of chuckles, the action causing the lilac eyes to glitter. "If you miss it so much, I'd be happy to oblige," Yugi retorted.

"Ah, too happy I think."

"Perhaps." Yugi beckoned to the open space on the floor in front of him with his cuffed hands - the wrist and ankle bonds having been placed prior to Atem's entrance into Yugi's cell a rule that Malik had mandated in order to prevent any mishaps. "Sit." Yugi's smile was that of mischief. "You owe me a rematch."

Atem obliged, lowering himself onto the floor by the door so that he could lean his back against it. He figured it also helped to be close to it in case Yugi decided to break their wordless contract.

Under the scrutiny of the prisoner, Atem reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a regular deck of cards, as Yugi had already gotten bored of the Duel Monsters cards he used to carry on his person. Atem couldn't blame him though. Especially not after the twenty-third time Yugi had wiped the floor with him.

Atem began to deal the cards in silence, unsure of how to approach his intended topic of the day.

"So."

Well, that was a start.

Yugi peered up at him from underneath a curtain of silky blond bangs. "Oh, well, don't go getting shy on me now, sweetheart."

Atem visibly scowled at the pet name, even though he was honestly used to it at this point. "I want to talk about your emergency room visit a few months prior to your arrest," he opened, quietly.

Atem's expert eyes caught on to the way a card almost slipped from Yugi's hand; on to the way Yugi's expression hardened two-fold. "That's boring," the sociopath countered. "Surely, you have more interesting things you want to ask me."

The number one thing Atem had learned about Yugi was that the younger needed constant redirection. He rarely ever stuck to Atem's line of questioning, either digressing on the subject or just blatantly ignoring Atem's questions all together (or just telling Atem to shut the fuck up).

So, in order to achieve any sort of semblance of a successful meeting, Atem often had to push Yugi in the right direction and just hope that the push back Yugi gave wasn't hard enough to kill him.

"You overdosed on sleeping pills," Atem said, careful and open in his mannerisms, while he fanned his cards out in front of him.

"It was an accident." Yugi shrugged and picked up a card from the remainder of the deck placed in between them. "Didn't realize how many I had taken."

"The doctor estimated that you consumed over forty tablets. Forgive me, but that doesn't sound accidental to me. In fact, it sounds very intentional."

"Pah." Yugi rolled his eyes and discarded a seven of clubs. "You shrinks are all the same. You know, not everyone is trying to kill themselves."

"I'm not talking about everyone, Yugi. I'm talking about you." Atem tried to give his voice a softer edge, as he regarded the man across from him. "Did you try to kill yourself that night?"

"No."

"The psychiatrist on-call believed you did."

"The psychiatrist on-call can suck my dick."

"Yugi - "

"God, sometimes I wish I could just staple your mouth shut. That way I could just enjoy looking at you without having to hear you rant on about this shit."

"I suppose I should count my blessings then that they do not allow staplers in solitary confinement."

"Don't go counting your blessings just yet, doc." Yugi winked at Atem, his lips curving into a smirk. "I've been told on more than one occasion that I am awfully creative."

Atem consciously leaned further back against the door to increase the space between them. As he did so, he noticed, for the first time, the bandages on the surface of both of Yugi's palms. "What's this now?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

Yugi didn't need to follow his gaze to know what he was referring to. "Nothing."

Atem didn't believe him, and Yugi frankly couldn't be bothered to come up with a better explanation.

Atem sighed and held out his hands. "May I see them?"

"No."

"Yugi."

Even to his own ears, it sounded like a warning, however unintentional the tone was.

Yugi blinked at him, before the pearl eyes narrowed to pin him with a glare. At this point, their relationship with one another was volatile at best, and homicidal (quite literally) at its worst. That being said, Atem could never really predict how Yugi would respond to a given request or question, though he'd be lying if he said he didn't expect the sociopath to tell him (in no less than three different ways) to fuck-off.  

Imagine his surprise then when Yugi, with a scowl still marring his heart-shaped face, placed his cards face down on the floor by his hip and held out his hands to settle them on top of Atem's.

Yugi actually... _complied_... with something Atem had asked of him. 

And Atem couldn't even allow himself the time to react appropriately to this, because the psychologist soon found himself having to focus all of his attention instead on the white gauze lining the younger's palms, just so that he could readily ignore how warm and soft Yugi's hands were in his and how they fit into the curve of his own open palms and fingers like puzzle pieces.

After taking an extra moment to silently compose himself, Atem raised his eyes back up to Yugi to ask him what had happened, but when he opened his mouth, all the words he had meant to speak lost themselves in the sight before him.

Because it was at that very moment, with Yugi's eyes locked onto his, that the corners of Yugi's irises cracked and real, raw, genuine _emotions_ leaked into their outer edges, bleeding into those stormy purple eyes just enough to shine through like sun.

And fucking Christ if it wasn't the most heart-stopping, mind-reeling, and breathtaking sight Atem had ever seen.

But then it was gone, and Yugi's eyes filled with a scarier emotion that terrified Atem in all the wrong kind of ways.

Panic.

"Get out!" Yugi hissed, ripping his hands out of Atem's and holding them to his own chest.

Atem was on his feet in an instant.

But then again, so was Yugi.

Impressive, given how the younger man's ankles were still bound by chains.

"Hey there," Atem soothed, raising his hands in a calming motion to placate the man. "Let's stay calm, Yugi. Everything's oka - "

"I said, get out!" And to Atem's relief and utter confusion, Yugi was backing away from him.

"Okay, just tell me - "

"Now."

"But I -"

" _Please_."

Atem froze.

And it wasn't until the metal door slid open and two guards entered the room to usher Atem back out into the corridor that he was able to break out of his paralyzed state and snap his slackened jaw back into place.

What the _fuck_ just happened?


	5. Secondary Source

It happened again.

The temperamental and unpredictable little sociopath that Atem had met with week in and week out had once again been replaced by another well-composed and silently lethal version of himself that Atem had only witnessed once before - well over a month ago now.

The Yugi he knew was as lurid and all-consuming as thunder. But the man currently in the cell, laying down sideways on the bed and propped up on his elbow with a book in hand, was as blinding and deadly as lightning. The sight of those empty indigo eyes and that all-too-familiar fatal smile slitting across those cheeks caused a wave of nausea to crash against the lining in Atem's stomach.

He was almost relieved when the warden had refused to let him meet with Yugi the day following Yugi's bizarre outburst (to do so would've violated the once per week arrangement) for if the warden would've allowed him access to Yugi's cell, Atem would've felt akin to a soldier going into battle without actually knowing who the enemy was.

One could make the argument that he knew Yugi better than anyone in his field, but that obviously meant jack shit when it came to confronting this darker side of the sociopath. He honestly didn't even know where to begin, and that sentiment in itself was what made him realize that he needed to talk to someone who knew Yugi below the devastatingly cold, rough, yet playful exterior that Atem had come to know on the surface. He needed someone who could tell him about the open and intimate nature of Yugi before he became the man sitting in that cell. He needed...

"Jou."

The blond flight pilot's eyes snapped up to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, can ya repeat that?" Jou straightened his posture so that he was no longer slouched in his chair. Hands settling around the ceramic coffee mug in front of him, Jou flashed the forensic psychologist a sheepish grin from across the old wooden table covered in an outdated cloth. "I zoned out for a minute there."

"That's quite alright." Atem took a sip of home-brewed coffee from the mug Jou had offered him shortly after Atem had arrived at his home to request an interview. To Atem's surprise, Jou had agreed to sit down with him right then and there, which brought them to their current spots, sitting across each other at the table in Jou's quaint little dining room, drinking coffee and discussing things that made the air around them take on an uneasy edge.

Upon entry to Jou's home, Atem noticed with a keen eye the way in which all the pilot's mess had been delegated to the corners of the home, and he didn't miss the newspaper clippings littering the bureaus in his living room - all of which concerned Yugi in some way or another, no doubt. As he sat across Jou and observed the blond's mannerisms, Atem considered how much older Jou looked than his stated age of twenty-five, as evidenced by the creases marring the corners of his tired amber eyes. Before the toll that this all had taken on him, Atem could only assumed that Jou had once been a vibrant, stunning young man.

"I asked you how old you were when you first met Yugi," Atem repeated, crossing his right leg over his left knee and resting his notepad on his thigh.

"Oh, um, let's see - I was sixteen when my foster parents took Yugi in. He had just turned fifteen, I think."

"What was your relationship like back then?"

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, I really didn't like him at first. He was short, sweet, and broken - my foster parents couldn't wait to take him in and fix him. They completely coddled him. I guess they were tryin' to make up for him losin' his parents and all. I know this sounds petty now but, at the time, I hated him for takin' all our parents' attention away from me. Honda did, too."

"Honda?"

"He's our older foster brother."

"And where is Honda now?"

"Who knows?" Jou snorted. "He split after Yug' got convicted. Didn't want to be associated with the case. I guess I can't really blame him."

No, Atem guessed no one really could. "I heard you went to court every day during Yugi's trial. So, you didn't always hate him, right?"

"Yug'? No, no, that was a brief stint of siblin' jealousy, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I tried to hate him for a long time when he first came to live with us. But Yug'... well, he had this way of lookin' at you, like right into your soul. And you think his eyes are big now? Man, you should have seen him with some baby fat on that face." Jou let out a hoarse little chuckle. "Anyways, he slowly broke me down. And afta' that, well, we were pretty much inseparable."

Atem acknowledged the fondness in Jou's voice with a small smile. "Can you describe his personality for me around this time?"

"Ugh, he had this terrible knack for bein' _too_ nice. No matter who it was or what they did to him, he'd always help or forgive or lend a hand. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. Wouldn't even defend himself in high school when he got bullied. Honda and I went to the same school, so it wasn't too big of a deal, since we didn't let anyone mess with him too much. But man, sometimes he'd drive me crazy with how goody two-shoes he was. Even durin' college, he reminded me of this little kid, y'know? Just so naive. I think people took advantage of him for that. That boy's heart was bigger than his brain sometimes."

Atem hid a frown behind a purse of his lips. He had read as much in Yugi's file, but Jou said it all so definitively that Atem almost believed him to be talking about someone else entirely. Yugi could've faked this persona, sure, he guessed it was possible. But for such an extended period of time...? Without even one sign or a single red flag?

"I know what you're thinkin' doc. And you're right. It doesn't make any sense."

Atem shifted in his seat, a bit uneasy that the focus was now on him. He cleared his throat. "So. When did you start to notice a change in Yugi's behavior?"

"Not long after we graduated from college." Jou slid his gaze down and began to play with the hem of the tablecloth. "He majored in Education, did he tell you that? He wanted to be a History teacher before all of this..."

The raw, conflicting emotions that danced in those weary amber eyes was enough for Atem to place his pen and notepad down on the table and uncross his legs so that he could turn to face Jou completely. "Do you need to take a break?" Atem offered.

Jou shook his head. "Nah, sorry 'bout that. Want another cup of jo'?"

"No, thank you though." Atem picked back up his pen, but left his notepad where it was. "So, Yugi... Did you stay in contact with him after graduation?"

Jou gave a small lift of his shoulders. "At first. He got his own place 'bout an hour away, but we talked on the phone every day and made sure to meet up at least once a week. 'Bout a month or two after he moved, I started to realize that every time I would call him to meet up, he'd always raincheck. It was always somethin' - he was too sick or too busy or too tired. Then whenever I called, he said he couldn't talk and would call me back later, but he never actually would. Eventually, he just stopped pickin' up my calls all together. I tried to get in touch with him every way I knew how - Facebook, email, the works. I even drove out to his place a few times, but no one was ever home. Honestly, it kinda felt like he just vanished off the face of the planet. Poof."

As Jou continued talking, Atem noticed the way in which his voice got lighter and his eyes heavier.

Despite all his years in the field, it never got easy for Atem to watch someone fall apart while trying so hard to keep it together.

"For a while..." Jou piped up again. "For a while, I thought he had died somewhere and just no one knew. That was the only way I could explain him disappearin' on me like that. But then, I'd have this gut feelin'... I just knew that he had to still be out there. Durin' that time, there were so many nights where I was stuck between grievin' the loss of my brother and bein' angry at him for leavin' me like that."

"I'm sorry, Jou," Atem empathized, gently. "I know how difficult this all must be for you."

"No. You don't."

The words didn't hold any anger in them, but instead were stated rather matter-of-factly. "You're right," Atem agreed. "I have no idea what you are feeling. In fact, I can't even imagine the pain you've been through. But I am sorry that you've had to deal with so much."

Jou almost smiled. "Ha... No wonder Yug' likes to talk to you." Jou tossed him a curious look from underneath his bangs. "How... how is he, by the way?"

Fucking batshit insane. And honestly, kind of bipolar. "He's doing better," Atem said instead. "More stable... well, sort of. I've actually been noticing some rather odd behaviors as of recent. Odd for him, anyways."

Jou leaned forward, interest brightening up those dull eyes. Atem took that as a sign to continue and thought back to their most recent meeting a few days ago. "I've noticed lately that Yugi presents with a completely different affect sometimes."

"Affect?"

"I'm sorry, work term. It's the way in which we express emotions and feelings... or lack thereof. Anyways, there has been two instances in the past two month where his entire... presentation has changed. Almost to the point of being unrecognizable. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what is going on with him at the moment. I was hoping you'd be able to shine a little bit more light on this. Was there ever a time that you experienced something similar to what I've described with him?"

Now, what Atem expected Jou to say was that he couldn't be of any help, given that he and Yugi hadn't been in much contact over the past two years. What he didn't expect was for Jou's shoulders to slacken or for those honey eyes to dim and drift off, as if recalling an old memory. Or perhaps trying to forget a bad one.

"Jou," Atem spoke in his most reassuring tone. "Is there anything else that you'd like to tell me? Anything that could help me understand what may be going on with Yugi?"

Jou didn't respond right away, didn't even acknowledge that the other had spoken for a full minute. Then, the blond sighed, as if resigned to defeat. But Jou didn't look as if he had just lost a battle inside himself. He looked like he had just lost a war. "A month or so after he graduated, Yug' went on this solo week-long trip to Egypt... To, y'know, find himself or somethin' like that. He always found Egypt particularly interestin', so he was super excited to go. Anyways, it was after he returned from this trip that he started distancin' himself. A few weeks after… well, after the bodies began poppin' up, Yugi showed up on my doorstep, completely out of the blue, and…"

At Jou's hesitation, Atem offered him a small hand gesture. "It's okay Jou," he reassured. "You can tell me."

For a few moments, Jou eyed Atem carefully, as if trying to decide whether or not Atem was trustworthy enough to relay whatever information he was holding back. Atem assumed that Jou must have decided that he was, for the blond suddenly picked up from where he left off. "He said he had found this ancient artifact on a dig site there. Some puzzle, I think. I don't know..." Jou sighed and raked a hand through the unruly blond mess that was his hair. "He told me the puzzle was… possessed. By this evil spirit. I know, sounds insane, right? But Yug' told me that this spirit, that it was hurtin' him and that he was afraid that the spirit was gonna start hurtin' other people soon. He called him... Yami, I think. Anyways, I figured he was havin' some sort of mental breakdown… from stress or whatever. I told him that we could go get him some help, and that it'd all be okay."

The information was hard for Atem to process - not for its disbelieving qualities, no, Atem was used to that in his line of work. In fact, the client he had before Yugi was 100% sure that he was the Lord and Savior.

No, the reason it was difficult for Atem to take all of this in was because of how _astronomically_ it changed Yugi's forensic profile. It took everything Atem had to keep himself from gaping at Jou in astonishment. "How did he respond to that?" Atem asked once he composed himself.

"He didn't. He just walked out the door and…" Jou looked off to the side, his face tight, almost angry, and clearly in pain. "He went home…" He pushed through clenched teeth. "He went home and downed a bottle of sleepin' pills."

Atem paused, his mind catching up with the implication. And when it did, his eyes widened and the pen nearly fell from his slackened grip. "It _was_ a suicide attempt," Atem muttered aloud, his mind flying a mile a minute. All of this... everything Jou was telling him were ground-breaking revelations in Yugi's case. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Atem asked, rather stunned.

"He never talked to me again after that. I didn't even know he had done that until months later, afta' he got arrested. And by then… well, by then, it was too late."

Atem nodded, his mind still racing with the new information; with the new pieces to the jigsaw that was Yugi Motou. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jou eye's were suddenly on him, and he looked almost pissed off. "I know how crazy this all sounds and you can take it or leave it," Jou snapped. "But I'll tell you one thing… that _thing_ that killed all those people, that was not Yugi. No. Yugi was the most selfless, cheerful little guy I've ever known. He wouldn't have hurt a fly. I don't know who you have locked in that prison, but that's _not_ my brother."

Atem stayed silent, because sometimes silence was as important as words. Besides. He knew that he needed to give Jou a little time to collect his white flag.

"I keep thinkin'…" Jou spoke after a few minutes, "if I would've stopped him from leavin' my place that day... if I would've dragged him to the hospital, or called the ambulance… would those people still be alive right now?"

Atem's gaze softened and his mind slowed. "I…" he started, but knew he had nothing to finish it with. "I don't know, Jou."

Jou nodded, finally smiling, though it was one of the saddest smiles Atem had ever seen. "Yeah. Me neither, doc."

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Malik had not been nearly as impressed as Atem had been when the psychologist had relayed the events of Yugi's last session to him; when, for a fraction of a second, Yugi revealed a glimpse into a soul that apparently still existed within the little sociopath. But Malik _was_ blown away with the information that Atem had gathered from his interview with Jou, evident by his look of awe and his verbal praise. "This is incredible, Atem," he had said, "This completely changes everything about Motou's profile. Ha, even that ol' stiff Seto will be interested in this."

So, what did Malik do to show Atem his thanks? He called in Seto fucking Kaiba, who, prior to his meeting of Yugi, was the sole reason for his headaches, given that the six foot five brunet was a pretentious _prick_ and probably, Atem theorized, a well-disguised sociopath himself.

Cold-hearted bastard that he was.

"Huh. Interesting," Seto quipped, reviewing Atem's notes in one of the chairs by Malik's round table. "Seriously though, these notes are practically illegible, Atem. Surely, your parents could've afforded a decent enough school for you to learn basic cursive."

Atem shot him an icy glare from his seat across the table. "I am sorry that my handwriting displeases you so. Perhaps I'll take some lessons from you when I have some more free time on my hands. You know, right after I finish working on the biggest case of the decade. Out of curiosity, what are you working on these days?"

Seto snorted at the jab. "I have better things to do than play card games with Motou all day. Besides, only you in all your infinite bullshit would take so long on a case."

"As you can see, there is still much about Yugi's psyche that we are unaware of. Breaking down the intricacies of a sociopath is not a process to be rushed."

"You could've learned this all weeks ago if you had decided to meet with his foster brother sooner. You're an idiot, and Motou's clearly playing you like a fiddle."

"I'd like to see things from your perspective, I really would Seto, but I can't shove my head quite that far up my ass."

"Clever." Seto sneered. "Did Motou teach you that one?"

Yugi had, so Atem couldn't help himself - he laughed.

" _Children_!" Malik hissed from his seat in between the two at the table, raising his hands in an effort to hush the bickering men. "If you two could kindly grow the fuck up, my blood pressure would be forever in your debt. Now, if we can get down to business. What are your thoughts here? I'll need to present an updated profile to her highness by next week."

"Isn't it obvious?" Seto said, not even trying to curb his condescending tone. "He is schizophrenic. It all fits. The average time of onset is one's early twenties, which would explain his lack of previous symptoms in his childhood and adolescence. It would also explain these delusions of an evil spirit he feels _makes_ him hurt people, as well as the negative symptoms such as the diminished emotional affect that Atem has observed on several occasions. He could also be experiencing sporadic dissociative episodes, as opposed to Atem's notion of random blackouts."

Malik nodded, complimented by a small shrug. "If so, counsel could argue that he was in a full-blown psychotic break from reality during the times of the killings. It couldn't get the little bastard a re-trial, but they could perhaps appeal his sentencing." He looked over at Atem. "Your thoughts?"

"Bipolar I with manic and psychotic features?"

Seto didn't even blink those icy blue eyes of his. "Motou hasn't once presented with a depressive episode."

"That's why I clarified the subset," Atem snapped, leaving out the _so you can just go right ahead and shut the fuck up_ that begged to follow. "He goes from baseline to manic back to baseline, skipping the depressive dip entirely. The psychosis aspect of it would explain this whole 'spirit' notion, whereas the emotional aspect of the disorder would explain his sometimes heightened episodes of irritability, the disruption in his sleeping patterns, and his decreased attention span - during which times, he acts out more aggressively."

"That's also a possibility. More likely than not he falls somewhere on the psychotic spectrum and presents with mixed symptoms of both disorders." Malik stood to his feet and circled behind his desk to stand over it and scribble some notes down on a few papers sprawled across the wooden surface. "Well, that's a start."

But Atem couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't. For one reason or another, none of it particularly sat right with him. "I have my next meeting with him in two days," Atem spoke, bringing the attention back to him. "I'd like to test these theories and see if I can bring out this 'evil spirit'."

Malik waved him off with one hand, the other still writing down notes. "Yes, okay. But use caution for once, will you? I mean, he's probably expecting you to bring this all up since you told him you'd be talking to Jou, but - "

"I didn't tell him," Atem corrected.

Malik stopped in his writing and looked up from his paperwork. "You didn't notify him that you were meeting with his foster brother?"

"No… " Atem said, glaring at Seto when the brunet snorted. "Should I have?"

"Are you kidding me, Atem?" Malik groaned, raising his hands in annoyance as if asking the universe _Why do I even bother_?. "He's unstable. You know that. You should have given him a fair warning that you would be meeting with Jou. What if he has a meltdown now?"

"Why would he?" Atem argued. "He won't care. And even if he is a bit annoyed, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that Yugi Motou gave an actual damn about."

"You better hope so. Because, frankly, I can't afford to hire a new psychologist to take your place."

Atem rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. It was all in good faith. I mean, he's not that unreasonable, is he?"

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

 Oh.

Yeah, he's _that_ unreasonable.

" _You fucking asshole!_ "

Atem winced and watched through the transparent plexiglass slot on the metal door as Yugi stomped around his cell, nearly screaming. If it was any consolation, Yugi appeared to be back to normal - whatever that meant - and he no longer held that dead look in his eyes. Yeah, the sociopath currently fuming in the cell was certainly the Yugi he knew. Though, by the way things were going, he almost would rather have had to explain himself to the other dauntingly hollow side of Yugi.

Hesitantly, Atem leaned in closer to the small holes right underneath the slot in hopes that his voice would carry more audibly into the man's cell. "Yugi, I - "

"How _dare_ you talk to Jou," Yugi seethed, fists clenching and unclenching by his sides, as he spun around to glare directly at Atem through the plexiglass. "He doesn't have _anything_ to do with this!"

Well, this was new. In fact, if Atem hadn't been so busy trying to figure out a way to diffuse the situation, he would have probably taken a moment or two to allow his body to register the shock. He'd never seen Yugi quite like this before.

Yugi was absolutely _beside himself._

He was angry, pissed, distraught, infuriated, and so many other raging emotions that Atem didn't know exactly how to approach the situation. How do you deal with an emotionally-charged sociopath throwing _the_ temper tantrum of the century? What class had he learned those skills in again?

"I can see that you're upset - "

"Oh, you think this is upset?" Yugi hissed, eyes flashing a dangerously dark shade of plum. "Come in here, Atem, and I'll show you _upset_."

"You are out of your mind if you think I'm stepping one foot in there with you like this."

Yugi didn't even seemed fazed when he kicked his bed hard enough for the resounding noise to echo. "Why not? It'll be fun! Right after I bash your fucking skull into the wall."

"I don't think you're making the case for me going in there that you think you are."

"I'm going to _ruin_ you!"

Atem exhaled through his nose and felt the phantom-like caresses of a headache coming on.

Contract be _damned_.

"Yugi - "

"Don't." Yugi began his pacing again. "What did you two talk about? I want to know everything you - actually, no, _fuck it_! It doesn't even fucking matter."

Atem sighed, only because it was painfully obvious that it did indeed matter. He had to admit that he had brought this all on himself this time around. Perhaps he should have given Yugi a heads up. Then again, to be completely honest, not once had he entertained the notion that there'd be any sort of potential backlash from his meeting with Jou, simply because it never crossed his mind that Yugi would actually care.

Here lied the problem, for it was now crystal fucking clear that Atem had unwittingly striked a nerve within the little sociopath. Say what you will about their labile relationship, but never had Atem intentionally sought out to exploit any of Yugi's latent weak points. Ruffle his feathers a bit? _Maybe_. But send him into a full-blown rampage? Literally, the furthest thing from his mind.

Up until now, Atem had made it a point to shield any sort of gesture (verbal, physical, or otherwise) that Yugi could misconstrue as the psychologist exhibiting weakness. Even in instances of questionable professionalism and stark bluntness, Atem almost always held his ground, unwavering and stubborn in his position.

But as Yugi continued to curse and stomp and threaten, depicting a picture of a child so distressed that he is forced to express his emotions the only way he knows how, Atem could not find it in himself to defend his actions. He knew, by Yugi's reaction alone, that he was in the wrong here.

Atem inhaled a deep breath, his temples now officially aching. 

" _Yugi._ " Atem urged softly this time. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I should have told you beforehand. You just... Well, after how we left things off last time, I didn't think that you wanted to speak with me right away. And, to be honest, I didn't think you'd care all that much if I met with Jou. It's clear now that I misjudged how much this would affect you and, for that, I do apologize."

"Jesus _fuck_ , none of that matters now," Yugi spat, falling back onto his bed in an angry mess of lithe beautiful limbs. Legs crossed on the thin mattress and elbows propped up on knees, Yugi hunched over and lowered his head to rest in his open hands. "Damn it, Atem." The psychologist could almost see the anger leaving Yugi's system, evaporating into the air around him to make room for a hurricane that sounded quite akin to frustration. "Damn it all to fucking hell."

Yugi lifted his arms up to drag his hands through his bangs and up into his hair, then straightened his back to glare at Atem once more through the plexiglass slot. "You can't come in here. Ever again. Consider this my official termination of our sessions."

Now this wasn't the first time Yugi had 'terminated' their sessions 'for good'. But it was the first time he did it without a vicious 'or else (insert threat of bodily harm here)' glued to the end of the sentiment. And wasn't that just the utterly unnerving icing on this fucked up cake of a day.

"Yugi, I know - "

"You know _nothing_."

"Then tell me, Yugi!" Atem coaxed, just a bit louder than he had intended to. "Tell me what's going on; tell me how I can help you."

"You don't get it, you ignorant fuck. You _can't_ help me," Yugi snapped, leaning back to rest against the cement wall, neck curved so that he could slide his darkened gaze away from Atem and up towards the ceiling. Hands now in his lap and legs still crossed, the sociopath played, almost unconsciously, with the scabs lining one of his palms (which, according to prison infirmary records, he had sustained by grabbing a harsh hold onto the edge of his sink earlier last week while trying to break a fall in his cell).

Despite the way in which the small holes underneath the slot filtered and hushed some of the noises and sounds within the room, Atem could hear Yugi's sigh as loud as if the other were standing right next to him. "Don't you see, my dear Atem?" Yugi was quieter, sounding as though he was simply talking to himself now. He chuckled into the emptiness of the room and then smiled - just the smallest pull on the corner of those pink rosy lips. "There's nothing you can do. Hell, there's nothing anyone can do."

And then, just like that, his smile was gone and those eyes flickering like purple embers were back on Atem. "Don't come back here." Yugi warned, quietly. "It will be your single biggest regret if you do..."

It was said with such solemn finality that when Yugi trailed off, Atem couldn't find the strength to press; to prompt him to continue; to explain.

No, no, _no_. He was much too preoccupied with the ship sinking sensation weighing down his stomach and tightening in his chest; with the sick, twisted sense of impending doom that washed over him, over the corridor walls, and flooded the hallways, drowning all inhabits in it's wake.

In the seemingly endless weeks of turmoil and anguish that followed, Atem would recognize this as the moment that several key realizations dawned on him like a pretty violet sunrise in a crimson red sky.

The first and probably the most telling at the time was the realization that (despite Atem's theories of suspected blackouts and Seto's theories of dissociative episodes) Yugi was very much aware and attuned to the other darker side of his personality, which was only further supported by Jou's earlier disclosure.

The second was that their contract was still very much valid and, for whatever reason, there was a part of Yugi that truly did not want to harm him. This was the only explanation, Atem reasoned, for Yugi's thickly veiled attempt to terminate future sessions with such severity. It also explained Yugi's desperate plea for him to vacate his cell earlier in the week.

This all led to his third realization that Yugi, to some degree, had an idea of just when this darker side of him planned to make its appearances.

Lastly - and this was more of a gut feeling than anything else - was that, if given the opportunity to do so, this darker side, this 'evil spirit' as Yugi referred to it as, had every intention of making its presence known to Atem.

And it damn-well promised to make an entrance.

Looking back, Atem could've chosen that moment to walk away and never look back. He could've informed his superiors that Yugi had requested a termination of their sessions, typed up all his notes, and took that vacation he had been holding off on. Maybe a few years down the road, he could've even written a book about his time spent with mass murderer and diagnosed sociopath, Yugi Motou, and perhaps profited off some of the psychological warfare Yugi inflicted upon him enough to retire young. Maybe he could've moved to Florida or something, because _fuck_ the cold weather that plagued Domino City eight months out of the year.

But Atem didn't do any of that, for he was a curious man by nature, an answer seeker, an inquisitive soul and, above all else, a damn fool.

And even after over two months of sessions, Yugi was still just an endless book of questions.

It all made sense in the end, really.

Atem was simply a moth that had caught sight of a violet-eyed flame - and what a beautiful tragedy they were together.


	6. The Third Player

This time when it happened, Atem was ready.

It didn't take long after he had told Yugi he was 'leaving' per the younger man's request.

What Yugi didn't know was that Atem really had just walked into the prison guards' break room, after informing the warden, of course, that he would be holding his session with Yugi slightly later in the day.

With the prior knowledge that Yugi's darker side had appeared shortly after the last time Yugi had sent him away, Atem decided that this would be the opportune time to test out a theory and see if this other side of Yugi would return after the sociopath, once again, sent him away.

It was all just a shot in the dark, really. He had only seen this other side of Yugi twice before in the past two months, and there was no guarantee that said 'side' would make a third appearance so soon after the last one. But he supposed he had nothing better to do today than to metaphorically throw different buckets of paint at a wall to see what stuck.

With that in mind, Atem waited impatiently in the break room for just over an hour before he began to make his way back to Yugi's cell. As a precaution, he peeked into the very corner of the plexiglass slot, so as to not be seen right away in the case that Yugi was in his same rampant, pissed-off mood. But to his own fucked up satisfaction, Yugi was sporting that hauntingly empty expression on his face that he readily recognized as Yugi's darker half. Not the greatest description, Atem supposed, given that the term would imply that there was a lighter half and, as Atem could attest to, Yugi in his normal disposition and temperament was _not_ a walk through a fairy-infested meadow.

But the identifying marker had served him this far in separating the two distinct sides of the little sociopath, so Atem figured he might as well continue with the label.

In the present moment, laying face up in his bed, arms bent by his head and hands cupped behind the base of his neck, Yugi was staring up at his ceiling and, from what Atem could hear through the small holes under the slot, the other was whistling. The eerie sound alone made Atem's insides shuffle around a bit.

As the guard beside him called for the cell door to be opened, Atem inhaled a deep solidifying breath, building up the resolve to take a steady step into the small room. Once in, he was able to observe the bottom half of Yugi's position - one of his knees bent and the opposite leg crossed lazily over it. He looked very comfortable there, whistling and watching the ceiling. So at ease, in fact, that he hadn't even seemed to register that his cell was now practically filled to capacity.

"Yugi?"

Nothing.

Not a lull in the whistling or a blink of his eyes. Nothing to show that Yugi had even heard him.

So, Atem tried again. But this time, from a different avenue.

"Yami."

The whistling stopped.

And it was in an almost robotic slow motion kind of way that the man in the bed turned his head to look at Atem, those eyes the darkest shade of indigo. "Doctor," Yugi -  _but not Yugi_  - greeted, uncrossing his legs and moving his arms in a manner that allowed him to press his hands against the mattress and sit up in the bed. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

That voice.

It was all wrong.

That wasn't Yugi's voice.

No, no, _no_.

This one was so deep and hollow, it echoed. How the hell did Yugi manage to change his voice like that? Surely, even in the remote wasteland of psychosis, that wasn't an easy feat.

"He needs to cuff you," Atem spoke, after finding himself again. He gestured to the guard behind him.

"But of course." Yami (as he preferred to be addressed by in this state) raised his hands out in front of him, then brought them down to rest in his lap after the guard had clicked the restraints in place. He straightened his legs and allowed the guard to bound his ankles together. "There," Yami quipped when the guard was done, swinging his legs off the bed and standing to his feet. "Much better."

Atem moved to the right to allow the guard enough room to shuffle back out of the cell. When the door rattled close behind him, he internally scrambled to reclaim his confidence that had been momentarily displaced in the bottomless depths of those unfamiliar, unblinking eyes.

"I don't think we've met," Atem began as a way of an introduction. "At least, not officially."

"Very true." Yami concurred. "But alas, I seem to be at a disadvantage, for it appears that you know my name, but I do not know yours."

Atem raised a brow at this. "But you knew that I was a doctor?" he asked, requesting clarification.

"It was an educated guess." Yami lowered his head and gazed out at Atem from underneath a curtain of loose golden locks. "You have been visiting my Yugi quite frequently these past few months. Only a shrink or his counsel would need to see him that much, and I know his counsel very well at this point." Yami's lips stretched into a little smile. "I must say, it is certainly a treat that you were able to stop by this afternoon. The last time I requested to see you, they refused to let you into my cell. But I suppose today is my lucky day."

Atem didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit. The air, the room, the floor beneath his feet... it was all so unsteady.

But damnit, this could be the only chance he had to shed some light on the darkness and the mystery that Yugi allowed to bubble on his surface but also hide in the deepest, most cavernous parts of him.

Atem would have to play the game, he decided, if he wanted the chance to unravel the secrets sprawled out before him.

"My name is Atem Sennen," he eventually said.

"Ah," Yami practically purred. " _Dr_. _Atem Sennen_. What an honor."

Atem watched as Yami bent down at the waist in a graceful _mocking_ bow. He just barely resisted the impulse to glare at the other. "The honor is all mine," Atem countered evenly. "Though, I must admit, Yami, that I find myself a bit perplexed. After all, if you are here," he alluded curiously, "then where is Yugi?"

Yami blinked those cold blank eyes and tilted his head. "There is no need to concern yourself with such irrelevancies."

_Irrelevancies?_

Atem almost bristled but then, just as quickly, he pulled himself together. After all, he _was_ talking to _Yugi_. It just so happened to be another side of the sociopath that he was engaged with at the moment.

"He..." Atem paused. "Yugi hasn't mentioned you to me before."

"Course not." Yami lifted a regal shoulder. "Though you would think after over a year and half together, he'd be more pleasant towards me. Such an ungrateful little _boy_."

"A year and a half," Atem repeated, appearing thoughtful. "That is quite sometime, then. If you don't mind me asking, Yami, just how did you come to meet Yugi?"

"Ah, such a long, boring story, that one. Best saved for another time. Perhaps I could interest you in the abridged version instead?" Yami never faltered in that natural composure - one that would have looked rigid or forced on just about anyone else. "Splendid," Yami said in response to Atem's nod. "Well, you see, my most curious doctor, I am the cursed spirit of the Millennium Puzzle - a puzzle that our dear Yugi found and solved, bounding himself to it and, in turn, me to him. It should be my misfortune, I suppose, that such a weak boy would come to solve the puzzle. I have reasoned that it is karma for my previous transgressions that has sentenced me to share a physical body with such a pathetic excuse of a host."

Atem hesitated in his response. "That does sound... awfully trying," he managed.

Yami smirked, and it looked so out of place - so utterly menacing on such an emotionless face. "You think I am a product of a mental illness?" he asked, matter-of-factly. "Hm. That is your first mistake, Atem Sennen. You should not underestimate me."

"I don't." Atem leaned, in all his rigidity, against the wall to steady himself after being so thrown off by Yami's comment.

How frighteningly... _self-aware_ this darker half was turning out to be.

"I would never underestimate you," Atem reinforced. "What, especially with all those people you've killed."

Yami's smirk fell. "Rather disgusting little creatures, you lot are," he spat, rather unapologetically. "And though your own combined stupidity will no doubt lead to your inevitable extinction, I am merely helping to move the process along as quickly as possible."

Well, that's a new one, Atem supposed. "You sound like you would not hesitate to kill again if given the chance," he reasoned.

"I would not." Yami admitted with ease. "Unless, of course, my sights were set on an even bigger prize."

"I see." Atem shifted a bit in his stance. "Tell me, Yami, if you are so intent on causing more harm, then why would you go and turn yourself in?"

Yami's lips twisted into a scowl, his wide, fireless eyes darkening a few shades. "That wasn't _me_ ," Yami hissed. "That was weak little Yugi's doing." Yami's face suddenly cleared again, his next words falling from nearly laughing lips. "He thinks these walls will stop me," he said, gesturing around the cell. "Ha! Such a _stupid_ _child_ he is."

The disdain was there. The venom was as deadly as it was overwhelming. The utter resentment this darker side held for 'Yugi' was almost tangible, almost visible. But Atem pushed that all aside for the time being to focus his attention on the much bigger picture. "Yugi turned himself in..." Atem muttered aloud, letting the pieces all fall into place, "...to try and stop you."

"Yes, quite the little martyr he is," Yami sneered. "He has yet to realize that all he's succeeded in doing is delaying the inevitable... and royally pissing me off." Yami looked off to the side wall. "It is of no consequence, however. I will find a way to get my puzzle back and then no one, not even dear little Yugi, will be able to stop me."

"Your puzzle?" Atem inquired, cautiously.

"Hm," Yami hummed, not really listening now. He seemed momentarily distracted, eyes still focused on the wall near his bed. Then he flicked his gaze back to Atem and regarded him curiously. "He is fond of you, you know," he said, discernible interest lacing those words. "I should kill you now to punish him for trapping me in this hell."

In the deathly silence that followed, Atem's muscles tensed and his body flared with alarm as Yami flashed him an owlish blink of those empty plum eyes. Atem may have even made a move for the door, he wasn't quite sure, because the second he dared to react, he felt himself being slammed into the wall behind him, the chain connecting Yami's cuffs together digging into his throat and cutting off his air supply. Instinctively, Atem's hands shot up to pull at the chain around his neck, but even with his adrenaline pumping and his survival instinct kicking in, he could not find the strength to loosen the chain's grip. No, if anything, the chain was being pushed _harder_ into his throat. In an automatic effort, Atem tried to thrash his legs, but one swift knee to his abdomen immediately stilled his movements.

"Relax, Atem Sennen," Yami cooed, bringing his mouth to the shell of Atem's ear. "I intend you no harm. But can you be a dear and pass a message onto my little Yugi the next time you see him?" Yami's smirk was back with a bone-chilling vengeance. "Tell him that I _know_."

Just as suddenly as he had been forced up against the wall, Atem was being released, hitting the ground with the entire impact of his body weight. He sucked in hungry breaths of air and then burst into a coughing fit as he clutched his throat with his hand. He only barely registered the sound of the metal door sliding open, his eyes instead on Yami, who, with a nasty smile, had fallen to his knees in front of him, cuffed hands raised in the air in an immediate surrender as three guards pummeled into the room. Atem followed with his eyes as two guards went to Yami's side and hefted him harshly onto his feet.

But even in all the chaotic, frantic movements, Yami held fiercely onto that unnerving poise of his and grinned down at Atem like the full-blown psychopath that he was. "See you soon," Yami promised, as the third guard helped Atem up and pulled him out of the cell.

His thoughts absolutely scattered and nerves amiss, Atem was unsure of many things in the aftermath that proceeded this encounter with Yugi's darker half.

But one thing that Atem knew for certain, without being told, was that Yami _always_ kept his promises.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

"Dissociative Identity Disorder."

Atem found himself a few days later blinking up at Malik from his seat in front of his supervisor's desk. "Multiple personalities?" he clarified.

Malik rolled his head along the back of his neck and reeled his arms behind him, bent at the elbow, in an effort to stretch out the muscles in his shoulders. "Only thing I can think of. It would explain a lot of what you're describing to me."

"I suppose it is possible." Atem frowned and narrowed his eyes in thought, causing a few wrinkles to mar his forehead. He had been quite the jumbled mess of nerves since his last encounter with Yugi (or rather, Yami?), but he had to admit that he felt much more like himself today after having had five _mandatory_ days off from work to recover from the unprovoked assault. "Isn't D.I.D. extremely rare?"

Malik nodded and clasped his hands together to rest on the top of his desk, fingers interlacing. "In my almost ten years here, I have seen only one legitimate case of it."

That sounded about right. "But doesn't D.I.D. usually stem from trauma?" Atem questioned.

"From what I understand, yes. It allows an individual to dissociate from a traumatic event by creating one or more alternate personalities. It's quite the handy little coping mechanism if you ask me."

"But isn't the host typically unaware of its alters?" Atem inquired, skeptically. "Yugi seems awfully aware of this other presence - this 'spirit' as it were."

"The disorder doesn't necessarily require that Yugi be unaware of his alter."

"Even so, what would the trauma be in Yugi's case?"

"The loss of his parents, perhaps."

"No," Atem exhaled with a small shake of his head. "Yugi would've shown symptoms way earlier in his childhood if that was the case."

"Maybe something happened later in his life that we are unaware of," Malik suggested. "You could always ask Jou."

"Ha. Yeah, I'm gonna hold off on that until I can notify Yugi. Hopefully when he is... well, more himself." Atem suppressed a shiver, the soreness in his neck flaring up at the memory. "And perhaps, a bit less homicidal."

"Not a terrible idea, I suppose." Malik quipped. Collecting his hands from the desk, he leaned back in his chair and quirked an eyebrow at the other. "Why do I get the feeling that you are not keen on this idea?"

"I'm just not in any rush to slap a label on his presenting symptoms," Atem defended, almost irritably. "You just brought this up like ten seconds ago - give me a minute to process it, will you? Besides, you're the one who taught me to be more skeptical. ' _The most obvious explanation isn't always the right one_ '. You told me that my first week on the job."

Malik scoffed and reached forward for a moment to plunk an apple off his desk. "No need for the trip down memory lane, Atem, I remember what I said." He settled back into his chair and took a bite of the fruit. "The problem is," he said after he swallowed, "I'm sensing that you aren't particularly sold on any of the theories we've come up with so far. Even your own. How come?"

Atem sighed and, mimicking Malik's movements, leaned back into his own chair. "It's just..." he began, raking a hand through his hair. "Malik, you haven't seen Yugi when he's presenting with this other personality of his. Something... I don't know, I keep feeling like... like something's not right here. If I were any less inclined, I'd say that he actually _is_ possessed."

Malik snorted with a roll of his eyes. "You really need to cut back on the TV, Atem. We are men of science, remember?"

"I'm not saying that I am buying into any of this possession nonsense," Atem snapped. "I'm just not sold on any of these other theories yet either. I don't know... I guess I just need more time and sessions to figure this one out."

"After his little stunt a few days ago?" Malik muttered, tossing his apple into the trash by his desk. "Honestly, I doubt the bosswoman upstairs will let you near him again. I know he's been pushing the line with you for a while now, and we're all guilty of encouraging you to stick with him this long. But it's becoming a liability at this point. He could've killed you."

Something inside of Atem shifted uncomfortably. "She's not thinking of pulling me from this case, is she?"

"She's considering it," Malik answered honestly. "Look, Atem. Motou is very clearly unpredictable, and we can't keep gambling with your life here. Now, I know that she hasn't made a decision yet but, right now, it's leaning that way. I think she wants to check in with you before she makes anything final."

To be completely honest, Atem had barely heard any of that, for the blood coursing hotly through his veins was far too distracting. He hadn't noticed that, in all his vexation, he had inched forward in his seat and was now practically hovering over the edge of the desk. "I will _not_ be pulled from this case," he declared, and he _dared_ someone to tell him otherwise.

Malik's eyes narrowed at the challenge, and he pinned the other man with a glare. "Cut the attitude, Atem, or I'll replace you _myself_."

"Like _hell_ you will."

"What did you just - ?"

The sudden ringing of the desk phone cut into the building tension, causing both men to glower at the device. After a second ring, Malik swiped it up and brought it to his ear, while shooting Atem a look that clearly said ' _We're not finished with this_.'

"I'm busy," Malik greeted harshly.

It was almost like Deja Vu in that awful kind of way in which history repeats itself.

The way Malik's eyes stilled, the way his cheeks loss some of their color, the way he answered in clipped and tight responses.

Atem couldn't bear to look at the familiar sight, so he chose instead to stare at the empty chair next to him, at the outdated red cushion resting on the seat. The sound of Malik clicking the phone back into its holder only served to intensify his gaze on the chair beside him. He hated that fucking cushion.

"Yugi."

Atem had meant it as a question, he really had. But both deep down and on the surface, he knew the phone call had been about Yugi.

"Yeah," he heard Malik confirm. "He's in the prison's infirmary."

There were one million questions Atem could have asked. There were one million questions he probably _should_ have asked. But there was only one question that weighed on his mind heavy enough to tumble out of his mouth and shatter on the floor by his feet.

"Is he going to be okay?"

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

The gross discoloring around Yugi's neck twisted at some loose cog in Atem's system, effectively constricting his chest cavity and causing the air around him to become thick and heavy. Atem felt claustrophobic with how hard it suddenly became to take in normal, steady breaths, which only served to bring awareness to the hand he had brought up to press his fingertips against his own neck, touching the fabric of his collared shirt there and, in effect, the bruises that hid underneath.

Yugi hadn't noticed him yet, which gave Atem ample time to just watch the man in the medical bed undisturbed - the man who once again looked like the Yugi he knew.

He gave his eyes permission to trail from Yugi's neck down to the wrinkled gray prison jumpsuit the other wore, then back out to one of the petite wrists, which had been fastened securely to the bed's railings by a thick strap. All of Yugi's limbs, Atem noted, were bound to the bed in the same manner.

He had seen Yugi restrained to this degree before - multiple times, even (mostly after lashing out at him). But, for some reason or another, the current sight was difficult for him to lay witness to. So much so that Atem almost considered walking out of the room before Yugi became aware of his presence. He couldn't explain it to his satisfaction, but he just... he didn't _want_ to see Yugi like this.

Especially since there was this piece of him, this incessant quiet hum in the back of his head, that felt like this had somehow been his doing. Was it his fault that Yugi was in this bed right now?

As he stepped further into the room, Atem smiled weakly at the nurse standing by Yugi's bedside, who acknowledged him with a small nod of her head. She checked the medicine bag hanging on the IV pole, wrote something down on a small index card, then circled the bed and approached him. "He shouldn't be talking to anyone right now, but the warden informed me that you'd be stopping by briefly. Just make it quick, okay, dear?"

Well, Yugi certainly knew he was here now, even if he was staring intently at the opposite wall and purposely avoiding eye contact with him. Atem mumbled a quick assent to the woman's request and sent the nurse on her way. He only partially noticed all the state-of-the-art medical equipment around them, in the same manner in which he only partially acknowledged the two guards posted at the doors on his way in. His mind just could not be bothered with giving attention to these little details.

Now these were fucking _irrelevancies_ , he thought to himself.

Especially when Yugi was lying in that bed in front of him, all the wrong colors tainting his previously flawless, pale skin.

"Yugi."

Even to his own ears, his voice sounded off. 

Yugi didn't even look at him. "Go away," was all he said. 

But Atem never did get in the habit of taking orders from the little sociopath. "Yugi," he said again, though he wasn't sure why. He risked a few more steps forward, stopping only when he was standing over the bed. From this distance, the ligature marks on Yugi's neck looked so much worse - it was so red and just so pitifully _raw._ "I talked to the warden before I got here," he opened softly. "He told me that the guards barely got to you in time."

Yugi didn't answer, didn't turn to face him, but from his higher stance, Atem could see those eyes harden considerably. A deep, nearly awkward silence manifested and stretched out in between them, making Atem feel like he was suddenly so far away from Yugi. It was one of those silences that, if they were to allow it, would go on forever. But it was so loud, so consuming, so akin to the thunder Yugi so often reminded him of, that Atem felt compelled to quiet it down with soft words. "They are placing you on suicide watch," he said quietly.

But still Yugi made no move to respond and, for the first time in a very long while, Atem was at a loss. He honestly didn't know what he should to do, but at the same time knew exactly what he _wanted_ to do.

He wanted to walk out the door, he wanted to reprimand Yugi for being so fucking stupid, he wanted to ask about 'Yami', he wanted to find a new job, he wanted Yugi to look at him with those pretty purple eyes, he wanted - ... wait, _what?_

"They should have let me die."

Atem startled to attention. "What - ?"

"Why the fuck did they cut me down?" Yugi hissed and finally, _finally_ , turned to look at him, his eyes the angriest shade of pearl. "For fuck's sake, I'm already sentenced to death. I could've saved you all a shit load of time and money if you just let me die on my own terms. Fucking dumbasses."

Atem paused to let the words sink in. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then found this overwhelming urge to glare at Yugi, an impulse that he fully indulged in this time around. "You made a noose out of your bed sheets and hung yourself from the top of your cell's door," he informed, his jaw clenching on it's own accord.

"I was fucking there, Atem, I know what I did. Geez, do they pay you all that money to sit on your ass all day and point out the obvious?"

"I want to know why."

"And I want you to get the fuck out. But if your recent history of abiding by a request of mine is anything to go on, then I'm assuming we're both shit out of luck today."

Atem's eyes were slits at this point, he was sure of it. "You are _impossible_ ," he shot at him.

"This is the part where I call you a pot now, right?"

"I swear to Christ, Yugi, if you don't start talking this _instant_ , I'll - "

"You'll what?" Yugi snarled. "Leave? Fucking good. That's all I wanted. All I wanted was for you to fucking leave me alone! Why couldn't you just do that? Why do you keep fucking coming back?"

"I..." And just as abruptly as it came, Atem felt his anger leave him - his anger at what, he didn't know. He also didn't quite recognize the feeling that it was replaced with but, whatever it was, it caused his shoulders slacken and forced him to lower his gaze to the floor. 

But anger was still racing in Yugi's blood, as fresh and bitter as his injuries, and it urged him to continue to glare at Atem with all his might. He glared and glared and then cursed and cursed until his eyes got tired and he ran out of hurtful words. And when it was all said and done, and the anger parted ways with him as well, Yugi blinked up at Atem, at the psychologist who hadn't moved from his spot throughout his entire tirade, at those rose red eyes that were still glued to the floor with resignation.

"Leave, Atem," Yugi finally whispered. "Please."

It was a familiar plea - one that caused Atem to finally slide his gaze back to Yugi. "Why?" he asked.

"Because..." If someone's entire body could collapse in on itself, then Atem swore, Yugi's would've done it at that exact moment. "Because I don't want you to get hurt... but I _can't_ control him when he takes over."

Atem ignored the statement, ignored the blinding arrow that was pointing to a mental illness so deeply rooted in Yugi's psyche that Atem wasn't even sure what the hell it was yet. But Atem found that, in this moment, it didn't even matter. No, what mattered to Atem in this very second was just how much smaller Yugi looked lying there in that bed. It was as if someone had shattered Yugi into a million jagged pieces long ago, and the shards were now much too sharp to pick up and try to put back together again.

It was true, Yugi drove him mad, he hurt him, cursed him, threatened him, laughed at him, taunted him, but still none of it seemed to matter in that moment.

Atem should've stopped himself from what he did next and, in hindsight, he really had tried. But his heart was aching - it was just all too much. And perhaps it was the sight of Yugi Motou, one of the most heartless human beings to ever terrorize the city - the _country_ even - trying to curl up on himself, but unable to because of the restraints, that had compelled Atem to do it. Perhaps it was the sight of this little soft broken child that Atem had never truly met before, but at the same time recognized as an image that seemed so fitting for the beauty that drowned every aspect of the man before him.

Atem figured that it could've been a thousand things, really, but if he was being completely honest with himself then it was the moment that he had noticed the thin veil of moisture glistening in those violet eyes and the single tear that had slipped from their very depths to sway down the curve of Yugi's cheek that Atem knew that there was nothing in this world that could've stopped him from reaching out and flattening the wavy strands of Yugi's bangs back into his hair with gentle brushes of his palm.

"Hey there. It's okay."

And oh, how the dam broke.

In such silent beautiful rivers, too.

Yugi turned his neck, winced at the pain the action caused, and let his tears trickle down his face and stain his pillow. And even though Yugi was trying to hide from him, from the world even, Atem could still see the shame on Yugi's face - the disgust at his emotional display, at his body's betrayal. Atem watched Yugi, observed the way in which the younger man was holding his breath in an effort to not make a sound.

Where was his raging asshole of a sociopath? 

Who was this little crying boy in this bed - a boy that Atem, somewhere in the sick and fucked up part of his brain, wanted to pull into his arms and comfort?

Was this all just a trick? Were these tears just for show so that Atem would lower his guard? Or was this all... real?

Was this anguish genuine?

Was that even possible?

"Breathe, Yugi." Atem muttered, gently. "Just breathe."

And he did in a loud, drowning intake of air, followed by a heart-breaking sobbing exhale. "Atem, please just leave," he mumbled, rather hopelessly.

"I can't do that," Atem replied, because he really couldn't at this point.

Not until he got to the bottom of this. 

"You don't get it, do you?" Yugi said, turning his head again to look at Atem with those wide eyes full of unshed tears - wet eyes that nearly brought Atem to his knees, though he would never admit it. "He will kill you."

"Hey," Atem consoled, "It's okay. We're going to figure this out. We're going to get you the help you need."

The words brought with them a new wave of nearly silent sobs, as Yugi turned into his pillow again, looking so much like he just wanted to disappear. Atem welcomed the silence this time, the quietness in the air around them with the exception of Yugi's quiet sobs, and continued to pet the boy's hair in his attempt to soothe this beautiful, crying little sociopath.

The words strewn together like that, in one fluid description, made Atem's stomach churn, and his chest heave with the threat of bile.

Overwhelmed and unable to make sense of anything in the moment, Atem swallowed the rising nausea and just continued to stroke those soft tresses of honey and raven.

But the gut-feeling of impending ruin never left him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I should have mentioned this in CH. 1 (I have now added it to the first chapter, but I will say it here too) - 
> 
> This is a revision and reposting of S&AD. If this is your first time reading, I strongly encourage you to read from these new chapters that I am posting on A03 as they contain edits and revisions. Most of this story is complete, and I will be uploading at least a chapter a day until I am all caught up. Thank you for reading! And feel free to leave a comment below! :)


	7. Little Marionette

By the next time Atem had been given permission to see Yugi again, the sociopath's defenses were back up and, judging by the guarded expression Yugi was sporting under those silky blond bangs of his, Yugi had brought in reinforcements.

Of course, this was all after Atem had raised absolute _hell_ at the Bureau when, earlier in the week, the director had tried to pull him from the case.

Even Yugi would have been impressed with the shitstorm Atem had set upon his chain of command had Yugi been there to witness it.

According to the guards, Yugi's presentation had changed again and his other personality - Yami, as it were - had surfaced not long after the nurse had kicked Atem out following Yugi's meltdown. To Atem's surprise, as he had learned during his brief conversation with the prison staff, the man had actually looked far from threatening at this time, instead appearing to be in a disheveled and weakened state.

Without being there first-hand to see him, Atem could only assume that this had been a result of Yugi's body being utterly drained from a combination of the meds, the physical exhaustion from his attempted hanging, and the emotional exertion from his breakdown.

And since Atem had been temporarily barred from visiting him, Atem hadn't been able to witness Yami in this supposed hindered state.

Now in the present moment, almost two weeks after Yugi's suicide attempt, Atem found himself sitting across from the other in a metal folding chair by Yugi's medical bed. Heeding the nurse's advice that they should hold off on Yugi's transfer until he had fully healed from his self-inflicted wounds, the warden had yet to move Yugi back to isolation.

Atem couldn't really tell how Yugi felt about this decision, given that the younger man had yet to acknowledge his existence. It was only after Atem had cleared his throat (twice) that Yugi bothered to wearily glance his way.

At Atem's request, Yugi's restraints had been lengthened enough for him to sit up fully on the mattress and rest his hands in his lap. At the very least, Yugi seemed content with the increased allowance for movement.

"You look better," Atem commented after a few minutes of silence, once he had allowed his eyes to trace the fading blue and purple hues circling Yugi's neck.

Instead of offering a verbal response, Yugi narrowed his eyes at Atem - a gesture that very clearly conveyed a ' _Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?_ ' type of message.

The look made Atem sigh. "Alright. I guess we'll skip the pleasantries today then and get right to it. Tell me about Yami."

"No."

"Yugi - "

"I'm not going to give you a reason to shove a bunch of anti-psychotics down my throat. Thanks, but no thanks."

Atem lifted a brow, slightly surprised by the comment. "Is that what you're worried about? Yugi, I'm not - "

"You think I don't realize how insane this all makes me look?" Yugi tossed a fierce glare his way. "Trust me, doc, I _wish_ I was crazy. Hell, half the time I still think I am. I'm not gonna fault you for questioning my sanity - I do plenty of that on my own. But on that same note, don't expect me to sit pretty and waste my time trying to explain it all to you. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll pass on opening that Pandora's box."

"You can't pass." Atem's words left no room for argument.

But argue Yugi did.

"Says who?" the younger challenged. "You?"

"Well, I don't see anyone else in here, _do you_?"

The insinuation was loud and clear. "Oh, you're in one bitch ass of a mood today, huh?" Yugi threw at him. "What's wrong, someone kill your cat or something?"

"We can go back and forth for the next hour if you'd like," Atem offered, his patience on a new kind of low due to the chaos the past two weeks had brought with it. "Or you can stop being so damn difficult and start answering my questions."

"I'll take ruining Atem's day for 500, Alex."

Atem's eyebrow twitched. " _Yugi_ ," he warned.

"Stop _that_ ," Yugi returned with a hiss. "Don't you _dare_ think for a second that you can control me, too."

"I'm not trying to - "

"Aren't you, though?"

Atem sighed and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. Obviously trying to break down Yugi's walls by force was not going to get him very far. If anything, it seemed like it was making his goal of breaching Yugi's defenses an even more challenging feat.

Atem dropped his hand back down and gazed thoughtfully at Yugi.

Maybe he needed to approach the man from a different angle.

Perhaps instead of trying to make an opening for himself, he could try to find an already formed crack in Yugi's wall.

"You know, the last time I saw you, Yugi, you cried."

"I swear to all that you hold dear, Atem, I'll rip your fucking - "

"Listen to me. _Please_." Atem interrupted, firm in his tone but soft in his words. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs, clasping his hands together to rest in between his parted knees. "I want to help you, Yugi, I do," he assured. "But I can't do that unless you let me."

Atem's words seemed to immediately douse Yugi's fiery aura with a cool stream of water. "You..." The purple flames in his eyes flickered, and Yugi's glare softened. "You won't believe me."

"Let's pretend I would."

"But you won't. No one will."

Atem offered him a small smile. "I'll try."

Yugi peered up at him through his thick lashes, quietly contemplating.

And once again, it all just didn't make sense to Atem.

How could someone who made his heart strings knot together with just a simple flutter of those dreadfully beautiful eyes be the root of so much loss and devastation?

"I don't know what Jou told you," Yugi said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, "but I'm sure he gave you a summary of everything I told him. What else do you want to know?"

The question had Atem almost tripping over his own words in a hurried attempt to gather all the information he could before Yugi had the chance to shut down again. "Tell me about the first time you became aware of Yami," he ventured, catiously.

"From the beginning then?" Yugi nodded, as if accepting Atem's line of questioning.  _For once._

_\- Christ, was hell freezing over or something?_

"Alright. Well, I met Yami almost two years ago, after I returned from my trip to Egypt with a box of golden puzzle pieces I had found on a dig site there. It took me two or three days, but I was able to assemble it all together - it turned out to be a pyramid of all things. I remember being so excited when I had finally clicked that last piece into place. I went out to the store that very day and bought a chain for it, just so that I could wear it around my neck and carry it with me.

"I had only had it for about a week when I began to get this feeling... like someone was watching me. I had never felt so paranoid in my life. It was little things at first, really. Like thinking I saw a shadow over my shoulder or that I heard someone calling my name only to look around and realize that no one was there. And then, before I knew it, the voice I had been hearing was practically shouting in my ears and the shadows around me had begun to take on a human shape. Then one day, about two weeks after I had solved the puzzle, I woke up in a room that wasn't mine. It was almost completely empty, save for the bed I was lying on, and the walls around me were made completely of cement - like these ones here, only darker. At first, I figured that I must've been dreaming... like one of those lucid dreams, you know? Where everything feels so real..."

Yugi paused, and Atem watched him shift a bit on the bed, as if suddenly resistant to continue. "You're doing great, Yugi," Atem encouraged, gently. "Keep going."

His comments earned him a small scowl from the other, but after a few quiet moments, the words seemed to fulfill their intended purpose and Yugi's hesitancy subsided. "That room was where Yami first introduced himself to me, as the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He said that the room we were in was my soul room, a place within my mind's eye that I could retreat to whenever I wanted to. He told me that we were partners, bound together by the puzzle, and that since I had solved it, it was his duty to protect me. It was all so much to take in at first, and I honestly thought I was losing it.

"But I never actually said anything to anybody because, to be completely honest, as crazy as it all seemed, it was... I don't know... kind of nice, I guess, having him around. We talked almost every night for weeks, and his constant presence in my life soon became a source of comfort for me. I think it was around this time that I started to pull away from my friends and family. It wasn't intentional on my part... it just kind of happened. As pathetic as it sounds, I guess I had just gotten to a point where I preferred spending time with him in my soul room than being around anyone else."

"I think I had known Yami for about three or four months when it first happened: One day, I just came to and found myself standing over these two guys. They were beaten badly and unconscious on the ground. I didn't even give myself a minute to process how I had wound up in some alleyway, because I was too distracted with trying to find my phone to call an ambulance for them. It was... almost surreal when I realized that I was absolutely _covered_ in blood... my hands, my clothes... I honestly think I just stood there for a good ten minutes, my mind trying to catch up with everything that was happening. And then, the next thing I remember, I was running.

"And I didn't stop until I got back to my place. I think I had spent the next hour on the floor of the tub with the shower running, before I confronted Yami about it. He didn't even try to deny it, but instead said that he had done it to protect me. He told me that those men in the alley had cornered me and had tried to assault me, possibly even kill me. And at that point, Yami had been my partner, my 'Other Me', for a long enough time that I couldn't find it in myself not to believe him. After all, he was my best friend. Hell, a part of me may have even loved him back then.

"So, yeah, I believed him. At least, I did until it happened again and again and _again -_ each time more violent than the last. It was a hard pill to swallow when I finally realized that Yami had been filling my head with nothing but lies and broken promises. Truth was, Yami didn't give a damn about me; he didn't give a damn about anything for that matter. I was simply a means to an end."

Atem straightened in his chair, semi-lost in his mixed state of morbid captivation. "What end was that?" he prompted.

Yugi paused and gnawed at his bottom lip, appearing thoughtful for a moment, before he continued: "Yami's only desire is to destroy. He doesn't have a hidden agenda, or any rational motives for what he does. Yami kills because he _can_...

"And it was the moment that I realized this that I tried to destroy the puzzle - burn it, smash it, you name it, I tried it. I even tossed it over a fucking bridge, but it didn't matter. The damage was already done. Yami was already bound to me, and no matter how many times I tried to rid myself of that cursed puzzle, he'd always find it again whenever he took over. And for every failed attempt I made at trying to destroy it, he'd come find me in my soul room and... " Yugi's face twisted, the promise of secrets darkening his features. "Well, let's just say he dropped his whole 'partner' facade and had no qualms with showing me the true extent of his displeasure for my _acts of defiance_."

Atem narrowed his eyes at the devastating toxicity outlining Yugi's words. "What do you - ?"

"If you want me to talk, then you need to shut your fucking mouth, got it?"

Once intrigued, it was difficult for Atem to let something go. But the consequence of prying at this point and having Yugi shut down on him once more was not something he'd ever be able to come to terms with. So, begrudgingly, he dropped it.

For now.

"I'm sorry." Atem surrendered with a small hand gesture. "Go on."

"Well, now I lost my place..." Yugi flashed him a warning glare, then turned to stare up at the ceiling. "Oh yes, I was talking about Yami being a fucking _prick_. Anyways... after some more time had passed, I began to realize that the more accustomed I grew to Yami hurting other people and the less emotionally reactive I became to that reality, the less often he actually took over. It took a while to piece it all together, but I eventually figured out that he had been feeding on my emotions as a power source. Especially the big ones - fear, sadness, happiness, love...

"Those were the ones that really turned that fucker on. Whenever I experienced any of them, it gave him enough strength to take over my body anywhere from a few hours to an entire day at a time. And yes, before you even open your mouth in an attempt to ignore my previous request for you to shut the fuck up, that's why he has been showing up so much lately." Yugi raised an accusing eyebrow. "It's your fault, y'know. I had him well under control until you showed up, you fucking asshole."

Atem blinked. Then, he scowled. "Am I allowed to speak _now_?"

Oh, now wasn't that eyebrow tic downright terrifying?

"Might as well," Yugi pushed the words through clenched teeth.

Atem sighed, his shoulders slackening and losing some of their tension. "Well, since you haven't mentioned them again, I'm curious as to what happened with your family and friends," Atem spoke softly, coaxing Yugi back into a more open and inviting atmosphere.

"They were collateral," Yugi said simply, taking the bait, as evidenced by his noticeably calmer tone. "It was too much of a risk to keep them in my life. Yami wouldn't have hesitated to kill them if he had been able to take control around any of them. Besides, it was too hard not to _feel_ things with them around. Sure, it was difficult at first - impossible almost - to cut them out of my life, but doing so made it much easier for me to stop caring about anything since I no longer _had_ anything to care about. Once I had made the decision to sever ties with them completely, the instances in which Yami took control over my body diminished drastically."

"If that's the case," Atem started, careful in his attempt to make sense of everything. "Then - "

"I'm _getting_ there," Yugi promised, seemingly tense again. He rolled his eyes at Atem when the elder bowed his head apologetically. "One night," he began, quieter now, "about three months before I walked into your stupid headquarters, Yami took over, completely out of the blue, and killed over a dozen people. Turns out that though my expression of emotions enables him to take over for short periods of times, he doesn't actually need them to get stronger. No, he had the puzzle to serve that purpose. That's where his true power stems from.

"The first few weeks that he had indulged himself on his murderous rampage, I did everything in my power to stop him. I spent every waking moment trying to build a barrier around both my soul room and his. It was the only thing that seemed to slow him down for while. In fact, the wall that I am constantly putting up around his soul room is the only thing that temporarily keeps him at bay anymore. But damnit, if he doesn't spend every second of every damn day trying to tear it down. I'm able to manage him pretty well now on that front, since he no longer has the puzzle to draw strength from. I had actually gone a few months without a peep from him before he managed to break through and kill all those inmates and that guard.

"But when the murders first started and he had the puzzle, that wasn't the case. I could only keep him away for six... maybe seven days tops? Then he'd knock down those walls, take over, and was free to do as he pleased for days, sometimes even weeks at a time. And he was only getting stronger every time that he killed, with each soul that he offered to the shadows. I knew that, as long as he had the puzzle, he'd continue to get stronger and that soon enough even the walls that I put up around him wouldn't have been able to stop him. I didn't know what else to do..."

It was so much - too much to wrap his head around. But yet, somehow, easy enough to follow. "So you went to Jou..." Atem whispered.

Yugi confirmed this with a nod. "He didn't believe me. And I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have believed me either."

Atem hesitated, because he needed the pauses in between their words to keep himself steady. "You must have felt like you had no other option when you took those pills."

Yugi looked down to play with a loose string on his gray jumpsuit. "I guess you could say that. I dunno, I just thought that if I couldn't take away his puzzle, then maybe I could take away his host. But as the pills began to take their effect, it became harder and harder to keep those barriers up. He must've slipped through, because I woke up in the hospital the next day with no clue of how I got there. There were a few times after that night that I considered alternative methods that were... well, that were _quicker_. Like jumping in front of a train or off a bridge... something that he wouldn't have enough time to change the outcome of if I were to suddenly feel afraid or become so distracted that I accidentally let down the barrier. One time, I actually did go up to the top of a ten-story building and walk over to the ledge... I wanted to do it, y'know? I wanted to put an end to all of this fucking bullshit, I really did. But as I stood there on that ledge... I don't know... I just couldn't do it." Yugi cracked his jaw, his eyes still at a downcast. "I guess I was just too much of a coward. And since I couldn't put a stop to it myself, I did the only other thing I could think of..."

"You turned yourself in..." Atem finished, before trailing off himself.

When Yugi didn't respond, Atem used the momentarily silence between them to clear his head with long, deep breaths, as he tried to find his footing. This proved perhaps more difficult than it sounded given that he currently had one foot in the rational world of science and facts and testable data and the other in the realm of shadows and magic and spirits hell-bent on fucking up everyone's day.

"Where is the puzzle now?" Atem eventually asked.

Yugi raised his arms in a shrug. "Not a clue. They took it after I got arrested. I haven't seen the blasted thing since. Good fucking riddance, too. These bars are the only thing keeping him away from it right now. It's not a perfect solution, no, given that he's still strong enough to hurt people in here, as he so adequately demonstrated a few months ago. But I figure, at the very least, in here, his range of destruction is limited. Besides, my execution will be here soon enough."

"If you honestly believed that," Atem remarked before he could stop himself, "then why did you try hang yourself?"

"Because I'm fucking _tired_ ," Yugi stressed, nearly angry. "It is exhausting to keep those walls up around him all the time, Atem. It takes everything I have, every ounce of my strength to do so. All of my energy is directed solely at keeping him locked away for as long as I possibly can... but the more time that passes in between his appearances and the longer that I am able to fend him off, the more he leaks out into me - his violence, his aggression, his disgust. I become rather... impossible to reason with towards the end of each cycle, right before takes over..." Yugi pulled his legs up as far as the restraints allowed and placed his hands on his knees. "Point is, I did it because, for once, I just want to fucking close my eyes without worrying if I'm going to open them to find someone else dead..." Yugi glanced over at him. "To find you dead..."

For the first time since his arrival, Atem found himself needing to look away from Yugi, away from those all-consuming eyes that would make any reasonable man act and behave and feel unreasonably.

Or was it just him that Yugi had this effect on?

"That day that I met him, Yugi..." he whispered, turning back to meet Yugi's awaiting eyes (were they always waiting for him like that?) "He told me to tell you that he 'knows'. What did he mean by that? What does he know?"

"Oh, you stupid, oblivious man," Yugi exhaled, pinning him an exasperated look. "Before any of - " Yugi waved his hand aimlessly - "this happened, you are someone who I would have easily fallen for. Yami knows that. And though I am incapable of feeling those kinds of emotions now, of even remembering what it feels like to love someone, the hesitation he senses when I'm with you is something that he will exploit with sadistic satisfaction."

Leave it to such a reckless individual to set off such a dangerous chain of reaction inside of him.

It was a domino effect, really, in the way Atem was forced to sit there and swallow Yugi's words, so that they could tighten around his lungs, intertwine unforgivingly with the strings of his heart, and then tumble down in some tangled, knotted mess into the pit of his stomach.

"I don't believe that," Atem heard himself argue, though he wasn't quite sure why he felt compelled to do so. "I don't believe that you are incapable of any type of feeling, Yugi. Someone who doesn't have the capacity for emotions doesn't break down like you did two weeks ago. No, somewhere inside of you, Yugi, you hurt and feel and bleed just like me. That's why you turned yourself in - "

"I turned myself in because Yami _needs_ to be stopped. It is as simple as that. Do not try to twist it into some idealist notion that I still have all these emotions buried deep down. Do you honestly think that I could do something as superficial as just _hiding_ my emotions without Yami being able to see right through me? No, Atem - that's not how it works. I actually don't really care about much of anything anymore. I can't afford to. And when I do find myself caring about something again, I rip those feelings right out at the root.

"What you saw two weeks ago, that wasn't some show of remorse for the role I've played in this whole fucked up situation. No, I've long since accepted those demons. That was just a moment of weakness... because apparently you have somehow managed to stir up a few rebellious emotions within me. But I assure you, I will get rid of those soon enough. Not hide them, mind you, but extinguish them completely. Not necessarily because I want to, but because I _have_ to. It's the only way I know how to survive. And sure, perhaps I do put on more of a hostile front than necessary at times, but it's easier that way, because it keeps people at bay." Yugi offered him an annoyed glance from underneath his fringe. "Well. _Most_ people."

Atem couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what emotion it was that forced him to lower his gaze to the floor, but it felt very closely related to guilt. "Is there..." Atem hesitated in his struggle to phrase the question. "Is there anyway to get rid of him?"

Yugi shook his head, appearing almost frustrated at Atem for not understanding. "Yami is a part of me, Atem. Like my shadow - always there, even if you can't always see him. And there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Your shadow..." Atem repeated, digesting the words. He cocked his head slightly. "And you, Yugi? What are you to him?"

"Me?" When Yugi smiled, it was as empty as Yami's eyes. "That's easy. I'm his puppet."

Atem almost frowned at the implications there - it highlighted just how powerless Yugi must have actually felt under the control of his darker half. "You said that you don't have the power to break the bond you have with him," Atem muttered aloud, casting Yugi a curious gaze. "Does he?"

Yugi lifted his shoulders in a kind of half-shrug. "I think so, but I don't know for sure. As far as I knew, that was his grand master plan. He used to tell me how, as soon as he was strong enough, he'd be able to use the power granted to him from the shadows to manifest his own physical body and sever the bond he had to me. Honestly, there were times where I wanted to let him do whatever he needed to, just to quicken the process with the hope that I'd one day be free of his hold on me. But deep down, I knew that once he got his own body, there'd be stopping him. If given the chance, he'd kill _thousands_. I knew he would." Yugi pursed his lips. "Besides... I knew he'd kill me the second he didn't need me anymore; the moment I became of no use to him, I was as good as dead."

Sometimes, all the helpful and comforting words that can be said are elusive in nature, dancing just out of your grasp and falling silent on the tip of your tongue. And sometimes, no such words even exist. Atem hadn't yet figured out where he stood in this dilemma, but he figured that it didn't actually matter. No, not when his main priority at this very moment was to find a way to fix -

"Stop it," Yugi snapped, garnering Atem's attention once more. "I can see those gears turning in your head. You're trying to come up with answers to problems that have no solutions. The only thing you could do to help me at this point is leave, Atem. Just let me forget you and wait out the rest of my sentence in peace. Until I am able to dismiss whatever it is I feel towards you, then the more you come around, the more he'll feed on those feelings, whatever they may be. Trust me on this one; you'd make everything much easier if you just walked away from this. You don't want to give him another chance to hurt you."

That was true. Atem certainly did not want to fall victim to the other's darker half. But, quite frankly, he didn't want Yugi to, either.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, I truly am." Atem breathed out, suddenly looking very tired. He guessed that when it came to Yugi, his priorities had always been a little skewed. "The last thing I want to do is make this any harder for you. But I just can't walk away from this."

 _From you_...?

Yugi narrowed his eyes at him, but Atem could discern that the action had been carried out with confusion, not malice. "Such a stubborn man you are." Yugi sighed, seemingly annoyed. "I really don't understand you, Atem."

"Ha. I don't quite understand you either, Yugi."

"After all this time? You're a shitty psychologist then."

Atem was silently grateful for the lighter shift in the air around them, and he really had intended to keep it as such, knowing that they both needed it after Yugi's remarkable disclosure. But when he had opened his mouth to retort, and his eyes had caught sight of the bruises on Yugi's neck again, he felt himself getting pulled back down into a heavy tide. "Yugi," he spoke, his tone serious with hints of gentleness. "Don't do that again, okay? I need you to promise me that you won't try to hurt yourself again."

A small chuckle escaped from Yugi's lips, his gaze falling back down to his lap as if he held the most interesting prize in the world between his hands. "Promises are for children," he muttered with a small shake of his head.

Yes. Atem supposed promises were rather fanciful notions - pretty words bound to nothing more than a man's willingness to follow through with an explicit request. But Atem needed those words, he needed Yugi's pretty consent to stay safe, to stay alive, until he could figure out a treatment approach that would aid in the reduction of his presenting symptoms, that would eliminate the need for Yami, who Atem could only rationally deduce was the physical manifestation of a psychosis so ingrained and tangible that Atem almost believed it all to be true.

Atem pursed his lips and regarded the other man carefully.

At this point, he knew that he had long breached appropriate boundaries with his little sociopath. In fact, the manner in which he found himself interacting with Yugi was beginning to go against all of his years of field training, against all of his schooling and the warnings his teachings had ingrained in him regarding countertransference. Yet, even with this self-awareness, he couldn't find the strength to keep himself from leaning forward, within the other's potentially hazardous reach, simply so that he could swipe some of Yugi's golden bangs aside and give Atem a clear view of those eyes that were as pretty as a spring morning, but as unrelenting as a winter's night.

Lowering his hand, Atem traced his fingertips down the side of Yugi's face and across the angle of his jaw until he found the underside of Yugi's chin. He pressed two fingers against the soft skin there and applied just enough pressure to lift and guide Yugi's face up so that those petal-colored eyes could meet his gaze.

"Promise me?" Atem repeated, quietly.

Yugi watched him, the purple fire in his eyes swaying from side to side as if blowing in the wind; the man he had become, the barrier he had built around himself, threatening to crack and and reveal a glimpse of the boy he once was. He was being pulled apart, tugged in two polar opposite directions, Atem could see it; he could see the internal struggle that Yugi found himself caught in the middle of, and Atem wanted so bad to help him fight, he truly did.

He just didn't know how to.

It didn't seem to matter though, because in only a few seconds time, Yugi appeared to gather his senses and patch up whatever cracks Atem had managed to find.

"I'm sorry, Atem," Yugi exhaled, shaking free of the other's hold. He turned his gaze away from Atem and stared off at the far wall, a distant look clouding over his features. "But I can't be your puppet, too."


	8. Losing Objectivity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Possible Triggers. Read at your own discretion.

If Atem had a nickel for every time he was on the receiving end of one of Yugi's death glares, he would probably have enough money to just _pay_ Yami to leave.

"This is harassment, you know," Yugi mumbled from his seated position on the medical bed. "Don't you have something else - _anything_ else - better to do than bother me?"

Atem sighed, somehow already exhausted, as he settled in the chair by the medical bed. "Sharing your past and trying to come up with solutions so as to better assist you in the future is healthy, Yugi." He removed his notepad from his briefcase and brought his glasses down from the top of his head to rest instead on the bridge of his nose. "Trust me, this is for your own good."

"Oh damn, that's right. Forgive me, it just totally slipped my mind that you actually have my best interests at heart. What, with your blatant disregard of my requests for you to stay the fuck away from me."

Atem grunted and crossed one leg over the other, his notepad hefting higher up on his lap towards his knee. "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine this morning?" he exhaled.

Yugi shrugged. "What can I say? Someone's gotta help shine a light on your life. I bet it gets quite dark having your head so far up your ass all the time."

Atem blinked, exasperated, then took out a pen from the chest pocket of his ironed white dress shirt. He pressed the tip of the pen to his notepad. " _Yugi continues to present as oppositional_ ," he said aloud as he wrote.

Yugi scowled at him. "Take these restraints off, and I'll show you oppositional."

" _Note that he also continues to verbalize threatening remarks_."

" _Atem_ ," Yugi hissed, violet eyes flaring. "Surely you don't have a death wish today, so what is it that I can do for you?"

Atem stopped writing and glanced up at Yugi, using his left hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you," he said simply.

"Didn't I just see you like two days ago?" Yugi argued in an annoyed fashion. "I thought I was on some special protocol or something, and only needed to tolerate your presence once a week."

"Given your recent disclosure," Atem explained, "my supervisor and the warden have both agreed to an additional session this week. I believe they are concerned that you divulging so many past memories to me earlier this week would trigger you to become more assaultive and aggressive in the days that followed."

Yugi rolled his eyes and raised his hands as far in the air as the restraints fastened around his wrists would allow him to. "Well, you can tell them that I'm just peachy fucking keen down here. Body count was still the same the last time I checked."

Atem nodded and leaned back in his chair. It was silent for a moment. Then, "They're moving you back to solitary next week."

"Good." Yugi lied back onto the mattress to stare up at the ceiling. "I'm fucking sick of this bed, and I'm sick of these restraints. At least when I was in my cell, I only had to wear them when you came around."

"I'm sorry, Yugi, I can see how that would be an - "

"Spare me, Atem, and get to the bloody point already, because I'm tired today and am in no mood to have you beat around the bush. What more could you possibly want to know that I haven't already told you?"

Atem exhaled a breath through his nose and tapped the pen in his hand against his knee. "Okay, well, I suppose I was hoping that I could ask you a few follow-up questions from our previous session."

Yugi quirked an eyebrow at him. "And if I say no?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Atem replied honestly, then pursed his lips. "I guess I was just kind of hoping you'd say yes."

For a brief second, it looked as if Yugi was going to throw some kind of nasty retort his way. He was pleasantly surprised by the chuckle that slipped past those rosy pink lips instead. "Guess there's no point in clamming up now. Nothing else I say could make you think I'm more crazy than you already - "

"I don't - "

"Save it. Just ask me your questions, so you can leave."

"Okay." Atem leaned forward, the movement causing his stomach to press against his notepad. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me more in depth what it's like for you in these instances when Yami takes over. Where do you go when he's in control?"

There was no hesitation. "My soul room."

"Do you remember anything from the times that he takes over?"

"Kind of..." Yugi shifted a little in his bed. "It's hard to explain. Because of the barriers around our soul rooms, our mind link is very limited. I never really remember specifics, but when he takes over, I'll get these random, distorted images of what he's seeing. It's mostly just colors - lots and lots of red usually. On occasion, I'll see faces of people. I can rarely ever make sense of the actual words, but I can hear screams sometimes... And if he _had_ any feelings, I'm sure I'd be able to sense those a bit, too."

"What about him?"

"I imagine that he experiences something similar when I'm in control."

"I see." Atem straightened in his chair. "Yugi, when was the last time you actually interacted with Yami?"

Yugi scoffed with a small hand gesture that looked akin to the universal _'Who knows?_ ', his lengthened restraints allowing him the movement to do so. "A long time. Ever since I put up the barriers, it takes too much energy for him to take control over my body _and_ to break into my soul room to see me. He can only choose one to do at a time, and I suppose that my company is just not as appealing to him as killing is."

"And before you put up those barriers? When he was visiting you...?"

Yugi glanced down at his wrists and scratched at his restraints. "Well, when we first met, the visits were pleasant enough. He always came to my soul room to talk though - never once did he let me see his. I guess I should've been suspicious about his insistence over it, but I was quite naive back then..." He shuffled in his bed a bit more, the lines that made up his face noticeably tightening. "Towards the end though... well, let's just say, he really had no interest in talking about my 'feelings' anymore."

A shiver ran down Atem's spine, feeling as if a cool breeze suddenly fluttered past his face. "What do you mean - ?"

"Atem," Yugi warned, eyes darkening. "Don't push it."

"Yugi, I think it'd honestly be helpful for you to talk about - "

Yugi had shot up in his bed so quickly that the restraints securing his limbs snapped with the pressure. "What do you want to hear, Atem? That he tortured me? That he _raped_ me?" Yugi seethed through clenched teeth, the temperature in the room continuing to drop by the second. "Fine, Atem. You win. He raped me every fucking night for _months_ until I managed to put those walls up."

"Yugi - "

"No, you wanted to hear it, right? Well, here it is." Yugi's words were like ice, and Atem may have even sat back a bit in his chair to distance himself from the brutal chill rolling off of Yugi's body. "When it first started," Yugi continued, his anger lifting to make way for a bitter tone, "I used to cry for him to stop. Some nights, it was so bad, that I thought he was going to kill me. At first, I pleaded with him to spare my life. Then, after a while, I began begging for him to end it. Eventually, I stopped begging him all together."

Hallucination, spirit, other personality, whatever the hell it actually was, Atem had never felt such an overwhelming urge to collect Yugi into his arms and comfort him with what warmth he could offer.

How _awful_.

How terrible was that of the mental suffering in which Yugi had to endure.

"Yugi..." Atem soothed, reaching out towards the other. "I'm - "

" _Stop_ ," Yugi snapped, halting Atem's outstretched hand. "God, just stop it already. You're not helping me, Atem, you're just making everything worse! Your ignorance and recklessness will be the end of _both_ of us."

If words could cut, if they could draw blood, then surely he'd be staining his white shirt by now.

Atem tried to shake away the sudden weight of guilt that Yugi's accusations had brought with them, but the feeling clung to him like a second skin.

Yugi had asked him before to leave and he hadn't, for selfish reasons, yes, but also because he honestly believed that he was the only one who could help Yugi.

But if all he was truly doing was making Yugi worse...

"I'm sorry, Yugi," he apologized, genuinely. "It was not my intention to hurt you or to cause you anymore distress." Atem slowly put away his things and stood to his feet, unsteady at first but able to find his balance. "If you honestly never wish to see me again, then I will respect your request. I am sorry that I didn't do so before. It was not fair to you..."

Yugi didn't say anything.

He didn't even look at him.

He just glared angrily at his hands in his lap.

Atem took that as his sign to leave.

Looking back, Atem would recognize this moment that he turned his back to Yugi and began walking away as one of the most difficult things he'd ever had to do. To be honest, he didn't even know he was capable of doing so - that he had the strength to move in any other direction that wasn't _towards_ Yugi.

But it seemed that his legs had begun making the steps on their own, as though his body knew that it was the right thing to do, even if every other part of him was fighting against it.

" _Wait._ "

Atem turned halfway at the quiet request and, when he did, those amethyst eyes were watching him intently, clouded over with just the smallest undertone of sadness, the icy aura around Yugi suddenly seeming to thaw.

"I don't..." Yugi's gaze fell to the floor by Atem's feet. "I don't want you to go."

Atem should've been relieved to hear that; surprised even.

But he wasn't.

On the contrary, Atem found himself upset with Yugi's soft words and, in all his frustration, he tossed his hands in the air and released an audible sigh. "I don't know what you _want_ from me, Yugi," Atem intoned, raking a hand through his hair, his other hand balling into a fist, around his briefcase handle, to rest on his hip. "You tell me to stay, you tell me to go and, quite frankly, I have no idea what to fucking do anymore. I want to help you, Yugi, I do, but you have been pushing me away since day one, and I'm _tired_ of being pushed away."

"Fucking Christ, Atem, what the hell do you expect from me?" Yugi shot back, his own fists clenching by his sides. "It's all I know how to do! So, you know what, fuck you - "

Yugi stopped, because suddenly Atem was next to him, sitting down by his bed and staring at him with mahogany eyes that were bright with compassion and completely lacking the frustration they held within their depths only moments before. "Hey, hush, okay? I'm sorry," he whispered, leaning over and brushing the back of his hand, his knuckles, against Yugi's cheekbone, for reasons he didn't know and couldn't explain.

Yugi looked down at him, his eyes shimmering with emotions he wasn't supposed to have. "I keep fucking trying, Atem. I keep trying to rip whatever it is I feel for you right out of me. And I know that all I've been asking of you for weeks is for you to walk away from this, but now that you are... I don't understand this. I should be able to just let you go. It shouldn't be this hard. "

"I don't... I don't want to go, Yugi," Atem murmured sincerely. "And somehow, against everything I've known and against every ounce of will-power I thought I had, I have found myself... attached to you."

"I wish you weren't though," Yugi replied. "Because I don't think I have the strength to push you away anymore."

Atem moved his hand to tuck some of those loose golden curls behind Yugi's ear. "You can't expect me to walk away from this on my own." 

 _From you_.

It's definitely ' _from you'_ now. 

"You have to. He will kill you if you stay, Atem."

"I won't let him."

"You won't be able to stop him."

Atem's lips curved into a small, reassuring smile. "We'll figure something out."

"Oh, Atem..." Yugi sighed, leaning into Atem's touch, those violet eyes searching his own. "You are such a fool."

It was hard for him to argue with the accusation. So, he didn't. "I am," he agreed, softly.

Yugi closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, his chest rising as he did so. "He'll be here soon, Atem..." Those eyes that reminded Atem of butterflies on a chilly spring afternoon opened again to meet his gaze. "I don't want this to be the last time I see you."

"It won't be." Atem promised, his hand leaving Yugi's face so that he could stand straight once more. "I will leave now, so don't worry about me, okay? I'll be back next week."

"Part of me really wish you wouldn't." Yugi mumbled quietly. "He ruins everything that I touch. He takes everything away from me that he possibly can."

"I'm not going anywhere, Yugi," he reinforced. "You won't lose me to him."

"Won't I?" Yugi's expression suddenly darkened. "He won't stop, Atem. Not until I'm dead." Yugi turned his gaze from Atem to the wall on the opposite side of his bed, just a few inches away from him. With the bright light that the overhead bulb gave off, Yugi could see his shadow stretch out on the wall to tower over him - a dark reflection of his thin form and wild hair.

"Fucking _bastard_ ," Yugi hissed and, using the lengthened restraint to his advantage, he punched the cement wall - and, in effect, his shadow - as hard as he could.

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

It had to be Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Or at least, it had to be some form of mental illness that stemmed from the Dissociative Disorders category.

That was the only way Atem could rationally explain the two strikingly different personalities inhabiting a single body.

It was surreal, really - something that Atem had never encountered in all his years in the field.

First, there was Yugi - who, despite whatever co-morbid disorders were at play here, still met much of the criteria for sociopathy as proposed by the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Yugi was cold, distant, and often apathetic with a blatant disregard for authority figures and, in the instances that Yugi broke from his apathetic default, he was prone to emotional outbursts and bouts of agitation. In addition, as evidenced by his connection with Atem, Yugi was indeed capable of forming attachments to others, however maladaptive they actually were.

When it came down to it, Atem wasn't as naive as perhaps Yugi accused him of being. Atem knew that there was truly a part of Yugi that was a chaos-seeking human being. But it was also clear to Atem that this was the result of years of mental abuse and torture by the hands of his darker half, forcing Yugi into a shell of a man who's only safe outlet (who's only way to feel anything _at all_ without triggering Yami) was to pull others into his own madness.

Atem could see that doing so didn't bring Yugi joy, but it didn't send him spiraling into remorse either. In fact, being hostile and antagonistic seemed to be the only thing that made Yugi feel alive while at the same time reminding him of how dead inside he was; how far had he come from the loving, carefree young man that he once was.

Even so, Atem knew there still existed a part within Yugi that held onto the smallest tendrils of his humanity - a part that was completely nonexistent within his other personality, within Yami, who was a psychopath to his core.

Unlike Yugi, Yami was completely unable to form attachments and presented with a lethally charming personality, as opposed to the often harsh exterior that Yugi and other sociopaths exhibited. Whereas Yugi was volatile, Yami was cool, calm, and meticulous. As a psychopath, Yami was unrelentingly manipulative and could easily mimic emotions despite his inability to actually feel them. Based on the information Yugi had provided Atem, it seemed that this was exactly what Yami had done to Yugi within the first few months following his initial appearance, though, given his last interaction with Atem, it was clear that the darker half no longer bothered with keeping up the charade.

Yami's sole purpose was to inflict pain and suffering, which contrasted sharply next to Yugi's general indifference to it all, as if Yugi accepted that it was all just a part of life and it was stupid to think otherwise. But whereas Yugi found some form of comfort in the intricacies of his chaotic expression, Yami had no interest for such petty things. He didn't care for the game like Yugi did; only for the absolute annihilation of his opponent.

Simply said, Yugi was beautiful mayhem.

And Yami was sudden death.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

"Care to explain to me how Yugi Motou ended up with a broken hand during your last session?"

Atem found his supervisor's office floor particularly interesting this afternoon. "Not... really," he muttered quietly.

"You know, Atem, I've had it up to _here_ with you two." Malik raised his hand to his forehead to illustrate his point, then leaned back in his desk chair with a sigh. "He is a fucking hot mess, and you - well, you are clearly not objective anymore."

Atem snapped his now narrowed gaze up to meet his supervisor's. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What, do you think I'm that oblivious?" Malik leveled Atem's glare with one of his own. "You are not as subtle as you think, and while it is not abnormal for psychologists to develop ties with their clients, I have the sense that your attachment to him is bordering on that ethical line you love to hate so goddamn much."

 _Ethical line_?

Atem exhibited supreme restraint in holding back his laughter. Who was he kidding? There was never an adequately drawn line between himself and Yugi. No, there was just a never-ending abundance of strings that intertwined them into the most tangled, irreparable mess he had ever known. "He needs _help_ ," Atem defended anyways from his seat across from Malik. "That's our _job_. And sure, we've had some mishaps these past few months, but since when was this ever a cut-and-dry line of work? Christ, I am doing what I can, and I wish everyone would get off my fucking back."

Malik opened his mouth, the reprimand sharp and ready on his tongue. But then something stopped him and the heat that had been rising in the room suddenly cooled. A few moments of tensed silence passed between them, after which Malik leaned forward, picked up a blue folder by his computer, and tossed it over to the other side of the desk.

Atem spared the folder a glance. "What's this?" he asked.

Malik shifted back into his seat and folded his hands on top of his stomach, fingers interlacing. "Motou has officially been sentenced for the murders of the inmates and the guard."

Atem's eyebrows furrowed together, confusion filling the lines of his face. "And?" he prompted. "I don't see how tacking on additional sentences when he is already on Death Row is anything to be - "

"The state," Malik interrupted, "argued that he poses a continual threat to his fellow inmates and the guards staffed at M.P.. They requested that his execution date be expedited." He paused just long enough to let his words sink in. "The request was granted as of this morning."

Malik hadn't even finished speaking by the time Atem had whipped open the folder. That feeling - the one he had so often experienced in his encounters with Yami, wracked his insides with a vengeance, as he read the new scheduled execution date. And as his mind went about calculating how much time existed between now and then, those feelings - waves crashing, ships sinking, bile rising - overwhelmed his senses.

"Six months...?" Atem read aloud.

Malik observed him for a second, his expression softening slightly, before he nodded. "I'm sorry, Atem. I know that you are just trying to help him, and I know that, to some degree, you have formed an unique bond with him. But this was inevitable. You know as well as I do that he is dangerous and that he needs to pay for his crimes."

When Malik was met with nothing but stunned, disbelieving silence, he found himself compelled to fill the void in conversation. "Look at the bright side," he offered, giving Atem a sideways glance. "You'll soon get to take that vacation you wanted."


	9. Abrupt Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic Rape. Read at your own discretion.

This was _bullshit_.

Yugi rested his back against the gray cement wall of his soul room, as he sat upright in the small, plain bed pushed into the very right corner. This was the second time in as many days that he had wound up in this blasted room. He hadn't even seen Atem this week, and yet his emotions were stilling running wild and out from under his control.

These _fucking_ feelings.

How the hell did he still even have any those? How _in earth_ had they survived after all this time?

Yugi brought his legs up to bend at the knees so that he could rest his arms over them and glare at his dangling hands in between them.

He was losing it - officially fucking losing his _mind_ to put himself in this predicament. After all the safeguards he had put into place this past year, after all the sacrifices he had made, he was now putting himself in a vulnerable state that Yami was _very clearly_ exploiting at every opportunity.

And for what?

Why was he doing this?

Because of a set of warm rose eyes and a brush of Atem's gentle hand in his hair?

 _Jesus_ , he was pathetic.

And more than that, he was putting everyone in danger - Atem included - for it was only a matter of time before, upon taking over his body, Yami found a way to kill again.

Maybe Yami would just sweet talk the overly kind nurse who had been tending to Yugi in the prison infirmary and charm her into loosening his restraints (' _Please_ _sweetheart? They're awfully tight_.') enough so that he could strangle her when she came close enough. Or maybe he would ask her seemingly harmless questions about the different sections of the prison (' _Just out of curiosity, you know?_ ') so that he could determine where his puzzle was being kept and formulate a grand master scheme to get his hands on it.

Because even Yami's brutal beatings of the four inmates and one prison guard not so long ago couldn't compare to the level of sadistic ferocity that arose when the shadow magic that the puzzle provided Yami with came into play. When using the shadows as a power source, Yami's murders ironically took on a life of their own, for he was able to devour one's soul and disfigure the corpse that remained, destroying the very essence of one's identity and sense of self, and thus making the bodies left behind almost unrecognizable.

And if Yami ever got a hold of the puzzle again, then they were all just living on borrowed time anyways because they were all already dead.

Stupid.

He was being fucking stupid.

He needed to get his shit together. Like, yesterday.

But still, even now, with the knowledge of all of this, his thoughts kept coming back to only one thing.

_Atem..._

Yugi sighed into the air around him and bent his head back against the wall to gaze up at the ceiling.

Fucking idiots. The both of them.

He swore the next time he saw Atem, he was going to give the man a piece of his -

Yugi perked up instantly at the odd, chilling sensation that pricked at his skin and filled his room, but he kept his eyes glued to the ceiling. And though it seemed like forever to process and recognize and understand the implications therein, it was only a matter of seconds before he _felt_ Yami standing over him.

"What's wrong, Yami?" Yugi opened with, seemingly unimpressed with the spirit's presence, despite this being their first interaction in months; despite the bubble of _dread_ that imploded in his chest. "Getting bored of slaughtering the innocent?"

Yugi flicked his gaze down towards Yami just in time to see the spirit smirk, those hollow, empty plum eyes almost bright in the dim light of his soul room. "Aren't you just as delightful as I remember?" Yami intoned, regal in his stance, even as he bent down at the waist and reached out with his fingers to brush those honey strands of hair away from Yugi's eyes, giving Yami a clear view of his face. "Oh..." Yami appraised, smirk deepening and cutting into his cheek. "How I've missed you, my little Yugi. It's been far too long."

"Can't say I return the sentiment," Yugi scoffed, sparing him a glance, before turning his head down and to the side. "Now if you don't mind, would you kindly get the fuck out of my soul room?" 

True to form, Yami took the request as an invitation to settle onto the edge of Yugi's bed. "You must tell me how you are enjoying your days in prison, little one," Yami coaxed with a smile. "Are they everything that you thought they would be?"

Yugi raised his gaze to look over at the spirit and, as he went about estimating the proximity between them and how many milliseconds it would take Yami to get to him, he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. "Food sucks, but I get by."

Yami hummed agreeably. "Yes, I suppose you are looking thinner these days." The spirit tilted his head. "And Dr. Atem Sennen? How is he fairing?"

Yugi narrowed his eyes at the implicit provocation. "How should I know?" He snapped, annoyed. "I'm not his keeper."

"Oh no?" Yami gave him an owlish blink, his lids falling close over those vacant eyes for only a moment's reprieve.

Yugi felt his face twist into a scowl at the other's feigned surprise. "Fuck off, Yami," he cursed.

Yami placed a hand over his heart - or whatever it was that pumped that black poison through his veins. "You wound me so," he said.

"If only I could," Yugi returned, his features darkening.

Yami didn't respond right away, but instead leaned forward, decreasing the space in between them. "My little _aibou_ ," Yami ventured, brushing the tips of his fingers across Yugi's cheekbone, but the action was carried out without affection – an endearment that was anything but. "I crave your touch. Come to me. Dance for me."

Yugi hissed, slapping Yami's hand away. "Find another puppet to do your dirty work," he spat.

Yugi went to move off the bed, but Yami grabbed him by the arm and pulled him roughly across the surface of the mattress. Standing back upright and still holding onto Yugi's arm, Yami dragged the smaller man to his feet. "Ah, look at that there in your eyes," Yami assessed, once Yugi was standing up straight in front of him. "I thought I had extinguished that light long ago. Wherever did it come from? Atem Sennen, perhaps?"

Yugi growled, ripping his arm out of Yami's grasp and taking a step back. "You'll have to kill me before I let you have your fucking way with me," he snarled.

"In due time, my dearest vessel," Yami assured, with a forward step of his own. "And while you may no longer care about your welfare, little one, I will tell you this...," he continued, voice dropping and hollowing out. "If you resist me, I'll make sure the next time you come to, you find your dear doctor  _in pieces_."

Yugi paused in his retreat and blinked up at Yami, his face flushing with heat as Yami once again closed the space in between them. Yugi opened his mouth, ready to say that he didn't care about Yami's threats, that he wasn't going to allow Yami to hold Atem over his head, he wasn't going to give Yami that amount of power, and that Yami could go to _fucking hell_...

But the words never came.

Even as Yami pushed Yugi back into a wall and undressed him, biting at his neck and bruising his skin, the words never came. And as the seconds ticked by, Yugi's body became more and more slack with the weight of a single realization.

Yami had already won.

"Good," Yami spoke, as he admired Yugi, who was now standing naked in front of him.

But the admiration did not last long and, before a minute had elapsed, Yami had wrapped his hand tight around Yugi's throat, hoisted him up, and slammed him down onto the floor below them.

"Now then," Yami began, pupils wide and pitch black with _loathing_ , "It's time that I put you back in your place, _child_."

The floor was cold against Yugi's now throbbing bare back, prickling at the edge of his shoulder blades and at the small protrusion of his tailbone, where the delicate curve of his spine met with his backside. It made Yugi shiver and reach out, palms open against the floor, so that he could further relish in the sensation.

And it was this feeling that Yugi kept his focus on when a pair of equally cold hands pulled at his knees, forcing his legs apart. He tried to ignore the feel of Yami positioning him; tried to ignore the feel of those frigid lips pressing against the inside of his thigh to suck at the sensitive skin there; _tried_ to ignore the feel of Yami's hand wrapping around him - stroking him _u_ _p_ and _down_ ; squeezing and teasing until Yugi's arousal swelled with unwanted desires.

Yami could never just fuck him and go. 

No. Yami needed more than that. He needed to show just how much control he had over him. 

The sadistic spirit could never just use his body for his sick pleasure; no, he needed to _abuse_ it, too. 

And when Yami was content with his work, it was in one, harsh thrust that Yami forced himself completely inside of him, sending a cracking jolt of searing pain up Yugi's spine and making his back arch against his will.

"Oh, _yes_." Yami practically shivered. "Don't you see how your body _begs_ for me, Yugi?"

Yami didn't wait for a response, and instead moved his hands to grab possessively at Yugi's waist so that he could slide his large, pulsating arousal all the way back out of him and, with a brutal flick of his hips, plunge into Yugi again, making his back curve in agony once more.

Yami didn't give Yugi a chance to get accustomed to the excruciating fullness of him and continued his movements, dragging ruthlessly in and out of Yugi, magnificently harder in his attempt to ruin the beautiful, trembling body beneath him, the tightness and lack of lubrication making Yugi's insides tear with each forceful thrust. And when Yugi felt the familiar stinging, sticky wetness inside of him, Yami couldn't have looked more satisfied, for it gave Yami momentum and allowed him to quicken his assault.

" _Beg_ , _little light_ ," Yami coaxed. "Beg for me to take you harder. Plead for me to break you in half."

Yugi remained silent and expressionless, but his insides kept recoiling and contracting in pain, which only seemed to increase Yami's brutality.

"Look at me, Yugi," the spirit ordered, panting harshly.

Yugi ignored the words, as he tried to return his awareness to the sensation of the chill beneath his palms.

But Yami was insistent, and he stilled within Yugi suddenly so that he could reach up to grab the boy's chin and force his face down to meet his. Yugi allowed the movement, but continued to look past Yami, to the comfort of the gray ceiling, to its neutral curves. He barely even reacted when Yami tightened his grip and sunk his nails into the soft flesh of his jaw.

And when Yugi did refocus his eyes, it wasn't due to the harrowing pain, but rather to the feeling of sticky, runny liquid trickling down his neck and pooling into the divet of his collarbone.

" _Look_ at me."

The command was harsher this time, menacing, and Yugi complied.

"Ahh," Yami purred, that signature fatal smile slitting his cheeks. "There you are," he enticed, leaning down to kiss the trails of sweet red against Yugi's neck to show his appreciation. "Oh, how I've longed to do this again. I've truly missed you, _partner_."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Yami raped him for a long time. 

Yugi had never really gotten in the habit of keeping track of the minutes, but given how a slow wave of numbness had begun to snake up from his toes to his legs and creep up into his insides, Yugi knew he had been fucking him long enough for his body to begin to shut down and block out the pain as a natural defense. 

Given that it would've been no fun for the spirit if Yugi was no longer suffering, Yami decided to conclude their time together with one last request.

"Say my name," he demanded, reaching down and in between them to stroke at Yugi's own arousal. "I want you to say my name as you come for me."

Yugi blinked up at the ceiling, his senses all blurring together and becoming one and, in a tiny whisper, he let the name brush past his lips simply because he wanted it all to be  _over._

" _Yami._.."

The spirit cooed in triumph and, leaning back onto his legs and using the leverage to bury himself fully inside of Yugi, Yami began a slew of merciless thrusts, which only became more ruthless and unremitting when loud pained moans escaped Yugi's throat on their own accord.

With a grunt, Yami released inside of the little broken, bleeding body in his grasp.

Then he gave a few more pumps to Yugi's arousal to bring the smaller man to climax as well.

If there was a silver lining for Yugi anywhere, outlining and hovering over his disgust and self-loathing as Yugi came onto both of them, then it was the slivers of orgasmic pleasure that shadowed, if just for a minute or two, the vomit-inducing pain fraying at his nerve-endings.

"You are _fascinating_ , host of mine," Yami adored, leaning down to place a soft kiss to Yugi's partly open lips. He gave a few more languid thrusts, spreading his seed inside of Yugi, the boy's accompanying wince making him smirk. "Oh, what a cruel world that I cannot have you like this all the time."

Yugi felt his body retract and try to fold in on itself, as Yami pushed his legs away and pulled out of him.

For the first time since the assault had begun, Yugi noticed all of the blood that was splayed out in streaks across Yami's body.

Yami's legs, his groin, his stomach, his lips...

It was _everywhere_.

And in his haze, Yugi remembered thinking - _Is that all mine_?

"I must leave you now, my precious little aibou." Those blank eyes closed almost blissfully, the spirit's lips holding onto the faintest of smiles. "But don't fear - I promise I will not wait so long before visiting you again."

Every inch of him, every crook and crevice of his body,  _hurt_.

He tried to console himself, knowing that the physical pain would pass as soon as he re-entered the real world.

But that was not what hurt the most, for it was his soul that truly ached.

His soul - what remained of it - the tiny handful that he had been clinging to for the past year was even smaller now, as he relinquished yet another piece of it to Yami.

And yet, Yugi could not find it in himself to mourn it's loss; to shed a single tear.

He would not cry. Not in front of Yami.

 _Never_ in front of Yami.

"And remember, Yugi..." Yami spoke into the room, as Yugi felt the spirit's presence fading. "No one will ever love you like I do."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Atem was an eloquent man by necessity.

After all, over the years, his job had required of him to testify in dozens of trials, to interact with tens of dozens of mass murderers and serial killers, and to offer comfort to over a hundred family members of their victims.

So, even though he was, by default, a blunt and sometimes crude man seemingly lacking a filter, he knew how to explain, how to express, and how to phrase things appropriately when the situation called for it. But somehow, even with all of that knowledge and experience to rely and expand upon, he still could not quite put into words the emotion that had overwhelmed him upon his departure from Malik's office last week.

This emotion... it was something new to him, yet still something he felt like he should've known.

It wasn't numbness – no, he should only be so lucky that he would be numb to this feeling; that he could be oblivious to the knowledge that Yugi would too soon be gone from this world; from _his_ world.

He couldn't explain it – the tightness in his chest had no words, the weight in his stomach had no likeness, no resemblance to anything he had ever experienced before. There was no analogy, no simile, no comparison. He couldn't even contrast the emotion with something stunning and beautiful, because there was nothing bright enough in this world to juxtapose this feeling that ate at his soul.

And so, it was in this daze, in this current state of being, in which Atem walked into the prison infirmary and laid eyes upon Yugi.

And after being stuck in such unfamiliar and unknown territory for so many days, Atem easily and almost immediately found reprieve in the sight before him; in his sudden awareness of Yugi.

Nothing else.

Just Yugi.

Only Yugi.

Yugi, the sociopath who was slated for transfer back to solitary this week. The crazed, murderous, delusional sociopath who he had been appointed to meet with week in and week out with the expectation that he remain professional, impartial, and objective.

All things that Atem had no intention of upholding today.

"I see you're healing up quite well," Atem commented, referring to Yugi's splinted hand and to the nearly flawless skin encircling his neck, save for a few raised, darkened pink scars. But the words felt fake and forced and awful, because Atem didn't want to focus on Yugi's injuries; he wanted to focus on those pretty sea blue and amethyst irises, on those wonderful eyes that were currently staring off and away from him.

 _Look at me_ , Atem thought, closing the space in between them in a few unsteady steps. _Please_.

But Yugi didn't hear his silent request, his unspoken thoughts, for his eyes remained glued to the wall in front of him. "I suppose I am," Yugi responded without true recognition of his words. "Lucky me."

Atem hid a frown behind a purse of his lips.

Yugi's voice was distant, quiet, echoing.

It was… _far_.

"What's wrong?" Atem asked him, now standing by his bed.

But Yugi didn't even really seem to acknowledge him. "Nothing," he said simply.

"You're lying."

It wasn't meant to come out as an accusation, but Atem supposed it had anyways. Yugi didn't seem to mind though and merely shrugged it off. "It's nothing," he repeated.

"Yugi," Atem mumbled the name. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

The refrain brought with it a rush of blood, a renewed sense of self-awareness as Atem felt that inexplicable feeling pulling at him again, gnawing at him. And after days of it, Atem finally felt a surge of heat that came with the realization that this feeling was all but forcing him into survival mode - into 'fight or flight'. And since he could never run from Yugi, never walk away from the little sociopath, he found that his only choice was to fight back against this feeling that so desperately wanted to consume him.

Atem only slightly noticed how the medical bed dipped with his added weight. He was much too focused on his own hands, on the tips of his fingers as they found their place under Yugi's chin to guide the younger's face towards him so that he could look into those hauntingly beautiful eyes. "Yugi," he repeated, softer now, pleading. "Please. Don't do this to me. Don't shut me out."

But even now, with Yugi's line of sight directly towards him, Yugi still wasn't quite looking at him.

No, Yugi was very clearly still somewhere else, somewhere world's away from him. And it was only when that feeling rushed back to the surface again and threatened to ruin him that Atem finally began to place it at its core – _fear_.

But Atem didn't exert the energy to delve into his subconscious, to expand upon that idea, to think or to analyze beyond that, for he found comfort in his natural default to simply respond without filter and react without hesitation, which led his hand from the underside of Yugi's jaw to the flap of the man's restraint.

It was then that Yugi's eyes adjusted to his surroundings, homing in on Atem's face before shifting to the long, tan fingers playing at his restraints. "What are you doing?" Yugi asked, sounding more panicked than surprised. "Don't – "

"Shhh," Atem consoled, pulling at the Velcro strap and guiding Yugi's right hand, splint and all, out of the mechanical hold. He repeated the movements with Yugi's other wrist, the sociopath watching him rather intently now, as Atem freed his second appendage. And when all was said and done, and both of Yugi's hands were at last unrestricted in their movement, the smaller man took the opportunity to rub at his sore right wrist.

Only after doing so did Yugi gaze back up to meet Atem's eyes. "Why?" Yugi questioned, appearing genuinely confused. "Why would you – ?"

Yugi was cut short – not by any words, but rather by the action of Atem reaching out to pull him into his arms.

And Atem supposed that it was Yugi's default in the way he became statuesque, doll-like even, in his arms. Not quite limp, but motionless... unresponsive.

But at least it wasn't the vicious push away Atem was expecting – the verbal lashing he presumed Yugi would throw in his face, during which time Yugi would ask Atem where he got his nerve… where he found the _audacity_ to embrace him so?

But even without Yugi shouting the questions at him, Atem found himself asking them anyways. Where did he find the nerve? What gave him the right to hold Yugi like this? In a way that Yugi, most likely, hadn't been held like in years?

Well, he supposed the answer was very simple, actually, because when it came down to it, Atem was an awfully flawed man – a terribly selfish man, who needed this; who craved this closeness with Yugi, despite the insanity of it all.

Yes, without reason or logic, he felt drawn to Yugi, captivated by him and, inevitably, a victim of his.

But as he held Yugi, even without any indication that Yugi would reciprocate or that Yugi even had the _ability_ to reciprocate his affections, Atem realized that it did not matter, because if he was being fair and honest, he was doomed the moment that he had walked into that consult room those many months ago.

And as it would be, Yugi was his undoing.

Atem tightened his hold around Yugi, pulling him closer, needing him closer, this numb little marionette, who, like Atem, was a victim in his own unique way.

"Yugi..." Atem whispered the words quietly, but they were somehow still too loud. "They moved your execution date."

In his arms, Atem could feel Yugi's entire body stiffen, his muscles tense, and his breath still, as if it had suddenly been whisked away by an unseen force, when in reality it had simply been trapped within the confines of Yugi's throat.

"When?" Yugi managed without actually taking a breath.

So Atem took it for him, burying his face in Yugi's hair and breathing in deeply. "Six months…" Atem murmured into the indulgent raven locks that brushed across his cheeks.

Yugi's reaction wasn't immediate.

Instead, there was a lapse in time in which nothing happened and, for just a second, just a split moment, Atem thought that perhaps Yugi hadn't heard him. But then, in what Atem could only describe as the slowest of motions, Yugi's body finally collapsed into his arms, finally surrendering to his embrace. And as Yugi did so, he hid his face into the curve of Atem's neck, his chest raising and lungs expanding with a large intake of air.

And it was only then that Atem could feel the warmth and soft fluttering of Yugi's breath on his skin as the boy finally released it – a beautiful, heartbreaking sigh of utter _relief_.


	10. Desperate Measures

It wasn't the response he was expecting, even though perhaps he should've in light of Yugi's recent suicide attempt.

Still, Atem wasn't prepared for the wave of relief that poured out of Yugi's body and flooded the room, as if trying to submerge them both in it.

Especially since it contrasted his own feelings on the matter so sharply.

In fact, the amount of solace Yugi so clearly found in the news Atem had just relayed to him almost made the psychologist... _angry_.

Atem swallowed the emotion quickly, knowing that there was no place for it here, in this moment, with Yugi curled like a child in his arms.

And so, he made sure to stuff it in a place where neither of them would find it again today, somewhere deep, deep inside of him.

"Something's wrong with you, Yugi. I can feel it." Atem straightened in the medical bed and placed his chin on top of Yugi's head, strands of ebony flattening under his jawbone. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk today." Yugi's voice was quiet, but tight. He shifted in Atem's arms and inhaled a loud breath. "Now, shut up. I just..." He pressed his cheek against the older man's shoulder and sighed. "Just let me enjoy this for a second, Atem. Just one _goddamn_ second."

Atem opened his mouth to respond, the retort stopping right before it reached his lips.

There was a lot he couldn't do for Yugi; too much that he couldn't protect Yugi from. But he could give him this; he could give him this second of peace and quiet and relief.

Atem released a small sigh and leaned down and over, shifting them both momentarily so that he could reach out with one hand to unstrap the restraints encircling Yugi's ankles. This allowed Yugi to bend his legs and fold further into the elder's embrace, the action causing Atem to tighten his arms around him in response.

Atem closed his eyes, reveling in the small pitter patter of Yugi's breaths brushing across his neck, in the warm cheek against his shoulder, in the way Yugi nestled in closer to him as if trying to fit into him completely. He desperately wanted to burn this moment into his brain, to brand it there, so that he would never forget this; never forget that Yugi - his hardened, cold, distant little sociopath could be soft and warm and close with him.

But Atem knew that this moment could not last forever, and the fleeting nature of it made him want to hold on to it that much tighter.

Looking back, Atem realized that it had cost him a small piece of himself to let that moment go.

"Yugi..." Atem spoke and suddenly Yugi's small hands were pressing against his shoulders, pushing him away.

"I said _no_ , Atem." Yugi moved out of his arms and sat back against the medical bed. Atem nearly shivered at the loss of contact. "You should leave now," he said.

Atem paused to let the words sink in.

They made his heart begin to race - his fear realized.

Yugi would not be persuaded into disclosing anything further; the younger man had already made up his mind on the matter.

Little did Yugi know, so had Atem.

"If you won't talk to me," Atem offered, taking a deep breath. "Then, let me talk to _him_."

The ensuing silence brought with it a new moment that would forever be imprinted in Atem's mind, in which Yugi's body went completely rigid, and those eyes darkened to the harshest shade of purple. The look he pinned Atem with was one of pure fury, the boy's indignation rolling off of him in _waves_.

"No." Yugi curled his free hand into a fist, his other hand tensing around his splint. "Get _out_." He pushed out through clenched teeth. 

Atem had expected as much and, when he stood from the bed, it wasn't because he had any intention on leaving Yugi. Rather, he stood to his feet in a physical expression of standing his ground. From the moment that he had made the decision to confront Yami, he knew that he would not be doing so with Yugi's blessing. No, he was prepared for Yugi to put up the fight of his life to stop him from drawing Yami out, and there was a part of Atem's heart and soul that rallied right along with Yugi.

After all, the last thing Atem wanted to do was put Yugi into this position anew – to take control (something Yami had always done) and bring the 'spirit' out against Yugi's will. It would be something that he knew, deep down in his core, Yugi would never forgive him for.

But as he caught sight of Yugi's eyes, of that flickering fire within them that died out more and more with each passing week, Atem figured he would have a lifetime to reconcile the guilt.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"You know," Atem spoke, his words soft and his tone even softer. "I don't know how to make sense of any of this..."

Yugi's eyes locked over his, the boy still halfway seething, but unable to fight against the gentle tones of Atem's voice. "What do you mean?" he asked him. 

Atem gestured in between them. "This, Yugi. I don't know how to make sense of _this..._ of you," he exhaled. "Of how I feel about you."

Yugi's eyes were always a beauty to behold, but they were even prettier now with the way they brightened at those simple words - such breathtaking hues of violets that tore through the very door to his heart. 

"I'm going to tell you something that I've been doing a pretty good job of not saying aloud," Atem carried on through the knot in his stomach and the ache in his chest. "I've spent the better part of my adult life in this field and, before you showed up, I had my routine down pat - to a point where my life had become stagnant and repetitive and... robotic, almost. I mean, I was so used to putting on a mask all the time, of mirroring and responding to other people's emotions and curbing my own. And then you came along and decided to turn modern-day therapy sessions into a weekly war zone - and, for Christ's sake, Yugi, you made _me_ feel."

Atem shifted a bit in his stance by Yugi's bedside, his gaze falling to the floor. "I wish I could put it all into better words, I'm usually pretty good at that. But when it comes to you, I just can't explain it. It's like... when you look at me, I lose track of everything I'm supposed to be and just feel like the man I am underneath it all. And then, when you look away from me, its everything I can do not to reach out and bring your eyes back to me, just so I can get lost in them all over again." 

Yugi had looked away from him at some point in the middle of his speech and was now glaring a hole into the wall next to his bed.

And it was only when Atem had paused to take in a breath that Yugi tensed back up, widened his eyes, and snapped his gaze back to Atem.

"Stop – "

"You are like... a breath of fresh air, Yugi," Atem said, picking back up from where he left off. "You are the only person, the only one, that I don't feel like I'm constantly suffocating around. Ironic, given all your past threats to actually suffocate me." 

"I don't want to hear – " Yugi was on to him. He knew what he was doing, but Atem couldn't stop now. It was much too late for that.

"I can't explain why I feel the way I do about you, but I do know this - "

"Shut up, Atem."

"I'm _not_ letting you go."

"Shut up, shut up, shut _the fuck_ up!"

Atem complied, closing his mouth, but only so he could bend down, take Yugi's face in his hands, and press his lips to Yugi's forehead. Atem shut his eyes tight, trying not to break his composure as he heard Yugi begin to cry.

He stayed there for a moment longer, storing away another memory, then pulled away from Yugi and let his hands fall from the boy's newly damp cheeks. 

"God, fuck you, Atem, _fuck you_!" Yugi snapped, a rush of tears falling down the sides of his face. "You fucking bastard."

"I'm sorry, Yugi." Atem felt the corner of his eyes prick with the threat of his own tears that he had to blink away, as he watched Yugi wipe angrily at his eyes. "I'm _so_ sorry," he repeated.

"Put me back!" Yugi shouted at him, holding out his hands. "Put me back in my restraints, please, _please_!"

Atem's eyes never left Yugi's - even as he shook his head despairingly at the other.

Realization sprinkled with panic setting in, Yugi looked past Atem towards the door. "Guards!" he cried out. " _Help_!"

Atem inhaled deeply, hoping to strengthen his resolve as Yugi's emotional distress threatened to unravel him completely. "They're not out there, Yugi," he murmured and exhaled a steady breath. "I sent them away under the warden's instructions."

Yugi turned his gaze back to him, eyes wide. "He would never," he said.

Atem smiled sadly. "Consequences I will surely have to face at a later point in time."

"How long have you been planning this, Atem?!" 

Atem felt his chest tighten at the sight before him and, suddenly, a lifetime didn't seem long enough for him to ever find the strength to forgive himself for putting Yugi through this. 

"I didn't know what would transpire here in this room today," Atem told him. "But I knew that no one could be around to see it."

"Oh, Atem..." Yugi whispered, knees bent, as he ran his hands into his hair and pulled hard at the strands. He looked up at Atem from underneath his bangs. "He's going to kill you."

It was only a moment after those words had left Yugi's lips that Atem watched Yugi unfold from his hunched position and look frantically around the room. He saw those panicked lilac eyes hone in on a sharp medical instrument left out on a corner shelf.

Yugi glanced back at Atem.

They both took a single breath.

Then the medical bed squeaked with the change in weight, as Yugi leaped off the mattress and made a beeline for it.

But Atem was a step ahead of him, had been this entire time, and the psychologist caught Yugi in his arms in one quick movement. "No, Yugi," Atem soothed, lowering down to his knees on the ground when Yugi collapsed into his arms in a fit of sobs. "I can't let you do that."

"Please, don't do this," Yugi begged, words muffled by Atem's shirt. His hands were balled into little fists, banging against Atem's chest, even as he leaned into the elder's embrace. "Put me back."

Atem closed his eyes and pulled Yugi impossibly closer to him. "I'm sorry, Yugi," was all he could say.

" _Damn_ you!" Yugi hissed, landing another fist to Atem's shoulder in all his frustrations and anguish. "Then, at least, tell me this won't be the last time I see you," he mumbled into the fabric of Atem's shirt. "Promise me, Atem. I need you to promise me."

Atem smiled, small and tight. _Promises are for children,_ Yugi had once said to him. And he was right. They were.

"I promise you, Yugi," he said anyways.

Neither of them exchanged any more words after that, because nothing either of them could've said would've made any of this _okay_.

So, Atem simply sat there on the cold tiled floor, swaying back and forth in small little motions, as Yugi cried in his arms.

It wasn't long - fifteen minutes, Atem had guessed - until the sobs subsided and Yugi fell limp in his arms. He didn't know how long he'd have to wait for Yami to appear, so he used his time wisely.

He stood and carried Yugi back to the medical bed, but did not put on the restraints, for he knew Yami; he knew the way of the psychopath, and he knew that if he wanted to get anything from Yami, that the other needed free reign. He needed to feel powerful; in charge. Yami would not disclose anything to him if he felt at all inhibited, restrained, or emasculated. It was not in his nature to submit; only to control.

Atem wiped at his eyes, erasing any trace of emotions that Yami could use against him. Then, he pocketed the sharp medical instrument that had been left out in the corner of the room.

Not to use in defense, no, he would never hurt Yugi - Yami in control or otherwise.

But he needed to be proactive and limit Yami's ability to do him harm.

No need to make it easy for the psychopath, he supposed.

The whole process of preparing for the arrival of Yugi's darker half took all of two minutes, and when he was done, he walked to the opposite side of the room, hands in his pockets, and watched the body in the medical bed from afar. He didn't know how much time he had before the guards came back, before someone showed up and further complicated this entire mess, but he knew he'd have to make this conversation a quick one.

His time was limited.

Atem inhaled a deep breath, rebuilding his composure as he readied to face Yami.

And as he stood and waited for the inevitable, Atem could only hope that he lived long enough to face Malik's wrath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These past two or three chapters have required much more editing and revisions than previous chapters. I apologize for the small delay in getting them posted - I just wanted to ensure that they are at top-notch quality! Thank you to all who have commented, given kudos, or bookmarked thus far! Your feedback is super appreciated!


	11. An Even Exchange

Yami loved to make an entrance.

It wasn't so much in the way he stirred - body tensing and fingers twitching - that caused Atem's heart to stutter against his chest and echo in his ribcage.

No, it was more in the way he opened his eyes - not a fluttering of lashes or a weary blink to consciousness.

Instead, it was a _snap_.

Like an instant opening of shutters that was pulled to reveal a blank, emotionless canvas of dark lavender.

Limb by limb, he rose from the medical bed, graceful, like a King. He seemed unaware of Atem's presence at first, appearing much more interested in his current bodily state than in his immediate surroundings. Those vacant eyes settled on his wrists, free and unbounded. A smile curved Yami's lips, just for moment, before his gaze shifted to the splint inhibiting the movement of his right hand. His eyes narrowed.

" _Careless child_ ," he muttered aloud and examined his body for further damage. Only once he was satisfied did Yami allow his eyes to scan the infirmary and, when his gaze found Atem's from across the room, the psychologist noted how much taller the other seemed. Atem hypothesized that it was perhaps in the way Yami held himself, holy and righteous, that added the extra height.

"Ah! Dr. Atem Sennen." Yami sounded positively delighted to see him. "It's been much too long since our last encounter. How's life been treating you? Well, I hope." He took a step closer to the center of the room and smiled. "No hard feelings about the whole...?" Yami gestured to his neck with his hand.

Atem _barely_ suppressed a hiss.

But he did so simply because he knew it would only encourage Yami if the psychopath thought for even a moment that he was under Atem's skin, crawling and invading him like a parasite, feeding off of his emotions in the same way he fed off Yugi.

Atem closed his eyes (for no longer than a second; no, never for longer than a second around Yami), so that he could bring to the surface every fragmented piece of his self-control. In spite of his efforts, however, he was still at such a loss in his core.

He didn't know what Yami was.

He had yet to come to terms with the idea that Yami was a separate entity from Yugi entirely; a 'spirit' that had possessed the man who had stole away with his heart and good judgment like a thief in the night.

But as he listened to the bottomless, baritone voice that scratched like needles against the chalkboards of his mind and watched the fireless eyes that were staring and stabbing like daggers into his soul, he somehow knew and could accept, at least for the time being, that this was _not_ his Yugi. Spirit or otherwise, this was not in any way, shape, or form, the boy he had held in his arms not even fifteen minutes ago.

"I am not here to talk about me," Atem finally spoke, a hard edge in his voice.

Yami tilted his head, the motion resembling a doll creaking its head to the side. "What are you here to talk about then?" he asked him.

This was it.

No matter how the next few weeks played out, this was the beginning of the end.

What end that was, Atem did not yet know.

Atem drew in a deep breath, with the hope that his next words would come out on exhale. But when the words traveled up his throat and played on the tip of his tongue, Atem decided instead to press his lips together and hold them in his mouth so that he could taste them. They were caustic - tart and pungent; acidic even, and the longer that he held them in, the more he felt like he was going to vomit them onto the floor by his feet. They tasted like he was about to sell his very soul and, for a moment, he considered swallowing them, like the bile they were.

Was Yugi really worth risking everything for?

He let his mind wander for a second, to a place six months from now. If he were simply to let this all go, let Yugi go, what would there be? Where would he be without those eyes that reminded him of a dark Christmas night, the morning of which was right around the bend? What would he do without that silky voice that was always softly mocking him, the pretty little tones of which drew out all of his flaws? How could he go back to the man he was before he walked into that consult room all those months ago? What was going to be left of him if he chose at this very moment to just let this all go?

Nothing, he thought.

There'd be nothing left after Yugi.

Atem opened his mouth, and the words slipped out. "I need your help, Yami."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

There was no way to describe the silence that followed - not the sound of a pin falling to the ground or a flap of butterfly wings being heard could characterize the quietness of the room or the stillness of the occupants therein.

It was an unknown silence - unnerving and alarming, but yet Atem found comfort in the momentarily lapse of sound as it allowed him the opportunity to find his balance and steady his mind.

Here went absolutely nothing - or perhaps everything. 

"Is that so?" Yami's voice broke in the silence and cracked the ice Atem had found himself standing on once more. "Well, how can I be of service to the esteemed doctor?" he inquired, seeming genuinely intrigued.

Atem straightened his spine. He had reached the point of no return. "Your execution," the psychologist said. "Have you heard the news?"

Yami raised an eyebrow, and it was enough to confirm Atem's suspicions.

As Yugi had disclosed not too long ago, the younger man typically found himself in a semi-conscious state when Yami was in control. Yugi reported experiencing random, sporadic sensory input during these times - sudden noises and broken images and intense colors. His awareness while Yami was in control was limited, and it appeared that the opposite was true as well. According to Yugi, this was due to the barriers he had erected, obstructing whatever kind of mind link it was the two of them shared. Whatever the reason, knowing that Yami remained in the dark when it came to the private conversations he and Yugi shared soothed some of Atem's nerves.

"It has been expedited," Atem continued, voice steady, "due to your need to show off last month."

"Ah, yes." Yami acknowledged the other's words with a nod. "The inmates."

"And the guard."

"Yes, and the guard." Yami stared at him, curiously. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Six months."

"Hm, well that's no good." Yami clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his lips lifting into a small grin. "Is that what upset little Yugi so much? Such waves of sadness rolling off of him not long ago. I would think he would be happy with the news." Yami rolled his head around the back of his neck and fell silent for a moment, turning his head to gaze thoughtfully at the wall beside him. "What is it that you think I can help you with, Dr. Sennen?"

With Yami's eyes elsewhere, Atem allowed himself to examine the psychopath, standing tall in all his glory, his face emotionless, yet somehow almost calm as Atem and he spoke of the man's upcoming demise. "There's nothing I can do to stop the execution," Atem said. "If you're as powerful as Yugi says you are, then I believe you'll be able to help me come up with a way around it."

A smile inched onto Yami's face with each passing word Atem spoke, those eyes ticking back to Atem slowly, like the second hand on a clock. "Do you know, doctor," he said coolly, "how easy it would be to kill you right now? I could snap your neck before you could even think to stop me. I could plow your head into the wall behind you and watch your pretty brain splatter _all_ the way up to the ceiling. Or perhaps, I could slit your throat with whatever it is you have hiding there in your pocket. Yes, I can see it there, outlined by the fabric of your pants, and I promise you that whatever it is, I could kill you with it, even with just this one good hand.

"And yet, I find myself troubled at the notion that you would put yourself at such extraordinary risk, as you are fully aware of my... perspective on the value of human life. You are an intelligent man, Dr. Atem Sennen, so I wonder... why would you risk your life to save his?" Yami suddenly appeared closer to Atem than he was before, almost half the distance than where he was standing not moments prior. "If I didn't know any better," he continued slowly, "then I would say that you are in love with little Yugi Motou."

The momentary silence that stretched between them spoke volumes of all different shades and colors.

Yami's eyes turned deadly. " _Oh_..." He chuckled, empty and hollow. "This is _rich_." His smile cut into his cheeks, two rows of perfect teeth taking up nearly half of his face. He began pacing the space in front of Atem like a vulture, hovering patiently over a wounded animal taking its last breaths, or maybe even like a snake, curling and hissing as it readied to strike. "The great and well-respected Dr. Atem Sennen falls for a pretty pair of eyes." Yami's smile was menacing and broken into sharp shards. "I'm sure Yugi will be overjoyed to learn that he has captured the heart of his _beloved_  doctor. Have you told him yet?"

Atem didn't respond, keeping his narrowed gaze on Yami's moving person, as he stationed himself into a defensive position, feet flat on the floor, legs apart, and hands tense by his side. Yami acknowledged his stance with a grin.

"It is of no consequence to me how you feel about my host, doctor, but it is surprisingly sweet, I must say. Oh, how he loves you so." Yami sighed, looking away at the wall again. "Well, at least, he loves you in the only twisted way he still knows how to love." Yami gave him a sideways glance. "I could feel it when I visited him this past week. It radiated off of him like a poison during our... time together."

There it was. The small thread that threatened to unravel Atem completely. Yami had found it, and he was now pulling on it, testing its strength, toying with Atem's resolve to stay together. "What did you do to him?" Atem snapped, tightening his jaw.

" _Do_ to him?" Yami had the gall to sound offended. "Why, I merely allowed the boy to repent for his sins against me and, in light of his _outstanding_ performance, I have chosen to forgive the little light of mine." Yami flashed him a cruel, nasty smirk. "You know, I should thank you, really. Yugi can be awfully feisty at times; he has quite the mouth on him, as I'm sure you are aware. However, your presence in his life has seemed to calm his spirit some. He was rather sweet to partake in this time around. You should've heard that lovely voice of his, calling out my name as I made love to him." Yami appeared momentarily lost in the memory. "Such a glorious boy he can be when he tries hard enough."

Atem gritted his teeth loud enough for both of them to hear. He was losing himself; his anger at the other's words threatening to expose him completely. "Love?" Atem spat, grasping tight onto the loosened threads of his composure. "You don't _love_ Yugi. You use him. You brutalize him. You are certainly not fooling anyone, and I'll tell you something else - I don't know when and I don't know how," he said evenly, "but after this is all said and done, I will make sure you pay for what you've done to him."

Yami did not seemed phased by Atem's vague threats, nor did he bother to deny any of what Atem was saying. In fact, the words spoken by the psychologist only seemed to further please him. "You know," Yami started, appearing thoughtful, "it seems to me that our interests may possibly align after all. Perhaps we can come to some sort of... agreement?"

Atem paused, taking in a breath and pulling himself back together. "What kind of agreement?" he questioned.

"You want to save your dearest Yugi, correct? Well, I want my own physical body to do with as I please. The solution? You bring me my puzzle. I will use the shadow magic to separate us. You get Yugi. I get my own body. Then, I will use the magic granted to me to get us both out of this eternal hellhole. Once out, we can part ways. You and him can meet for a rendezvous if you so wish, and I'll be on my merry way."

Atem shook his head, raising his hand, palm open, to request a moment to think. "Wait," he said. "If the puzzle was all you needed to separate, why didn't you do so before Yugi turned himself in and the puzzle got taken away?"

"You think I knew what that little _pitiful child_ was up to?" Yami hissed, his facade dropping for a split second. He regained himself almost instantly, straightening back up and pinning Atem with a smile. "I was working my way up to it, my most curious doctor. I was getting stronger each day, collecting souls, feeding the shadows. I was near ready to attempt the split when Yugi walked into your headquarters. In fact, Yugi beat me to it by mere _days_." Yami took another step towards him. They were now so close that if both of them reached out towards the other, the tips of their fingers would brush against one another. "I assure you, Dr. Atem Sennen, that everything is in place for the separation. I just need my puzzle."

Atem watched him, his gaze never leaving those darkened, lifeless eyes of wine. "What will stop you from killing us the moment you get your own body?" he asked.

"Nothing, I suppose," Yami replied with an unapologetic shrug. "But I'll give you my word that I will not harm either of you. It will be part of our... contract, if you will." 

"Your word?" Atem did not even try to hide the scowl on his face. "You want me to take _your word_?" he repeated, emphasizing the absurdity of it all.

"Your mistrust is not without merit," Yami validated coolly. "How about this? As a show of good faith, I will not harm Yugi in any manner from this moment onward. I will remain dormant in my soul room until the time comes that you bring me my puzzle."

As utterly relieved as Atem felt hearing those words (that Yugi would be safe from his darker half - even for just a brief stretch of time), he still hesitated. "You're asking me to get you the same puzzle that helped you kill all those people."

"I am," Yami said. "And you must. Because when you really think about it, Dr. Atem Sennen... what other choice do you have?"

None.

There was no other choice.

Atem knew that the second he left Malik's office, because when it came down to it, Yugi couldn't get rid of Yami by himself, and Atem couldn't save Yugi on his own. Atem knew that he would have to give in to Yami's demands if he was ever to have a chance at freeing Yugi from his darker half's hold. More importantly, Atem knew he would need something _out of this world_ to save Yugi from the electric chair.

And though this whole plan could fail, Yugi could really just be batshit insane and there was no shadow magic or blood-thirsty spirits, it was the only option Atem really had left. The pull that drew him to Yugi and his unrelenting hope that Yugi was truly good under all of the blood and bodies and nasty words forced him into a corner where he wanted nothing more than to suspend disbelief and accept what Yugi had told him to be true, even though he knew that there was an overwhelming chance that he would find the puzzle, hand it over to Yami, and nothing would happen _because, you know, shadows and magic and spirits don't really exist, you fucking fool._

But then where would he be? Right back where they started, with Yugi being this sociopath suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and Atem having risked everything for a crazed mass murderer.

But if Atem stood back and did nothing, then it was one hundred percent guaranteed that Yugi would perish in six months time all the while enduring excruciating mental suffering at the hands of his darker half. And that all waged war with the one percent chance that this was somehow all real. Yami, spirits, shadow magic, puzzles... he'd believe in anything if it could possibly save Yugi. If there was even a one percent chance that this could work, then he had to try.

It was truly the definition of a last resort.

"Okay," Atem exhaled with a small nod. "I'll get you your puzzle."

Yami titled his head, stared at Atem for a moment, studying him, then smiled a wicked smile. "We have a deal then."


	12. Facing Consequences

After they had reached an agreement that satisfied both psychologist and 'spirit', Yami had no qualms in acquiescing control back over to Yugi.

In fact, it was with a smile on that blank canvas of a face, that Yami laid back down on the medical bed and allowed Atem to secure his limbs with the mechanical restraints. The process was slow and deliberate, Atem all too aware of their close proximity as he fastened the Velcro straps around Yami's wrists, then ankles.

Atem couldn't actually pinpoint the exact moment when Yami slipped from consciousness, but he did feel the shift in the air; it was no longer thick and syrupy or weighing heavy in his lungs. He didn't feel as if he was suffocating anymore or that the oxygen in the room was thinning out by the minute. He could actually take a breath again, as loud and shaky as it was, without immediately feeling like he needed to take another one to keep from passing out.

When the nurse found Atem, he was leaning against the wall, near trembling and only barely holding himself upright. She had rushed over to him, asking him questions that he couldn't really understand. Her words were a jumbled mess of syllables the frenzied synapses in his brain were scrambling into something unintelligible. She might as well have been speaking another language.

That's when he saw it - those bleary eyes of violet slowly sliding open and blinking a few times to adjust to the florescent light overhead.

_Yugi..._

Atem wanted to hug him, hold him again, and pretend for just a second that they were back in that moment, back to a safe place, far away from nurses and guards and supervisors and spirits, where Yugi could be small and soft in his arms again. But that prospect was quickly brushed aside when Yugi looked over at him and began thrashing in the medical bed, utilizing his rather _colorful_ vocabulary to let Atem know just how much Yugi was _not_ going to allow that moment to transpire again.

Atem's soothing words only seemed to agitate Yugi further, and the nurse immediately shooed him to the other side of the room. She pressed a button under one of the nearby shelves to send an alert out to the guards that there was an agitated prisoner in the infirmary, and Atem stood, statuesque almost, as he watched the entire scene unfold from afar.

In a span of thirty seconds, four guards had rushed in past the infirmary doors and oriented themselves to the body flailing in the bed; to the prisoner who, even with fastened restraints, was thrashing around violently enough to shake the plastic foundation below the mattress.

Two of the guards held the enraged and inconsolable boy down by his shoulders and midsection, Yugi damning them all to the darkest corners of _hell_ as the nurse stuck a needle into his arm and injected a heavy dose of sedatives into his bloodstream.

It did not take long for Yugi to succumb to the effects of the medication and, once he did so, the occupants in the room found themselves in a heated argument about how the prisoner had come to be unguarded. The quick internal investigation led directly back to Atem, which brought them to the present moment - Atem standing in front of his supervisor's desk, and Malik pinning him with a look of contempt from his seated position.

Off to his supervisor's side and slightly behind him stood Isis Ishtar - a tall, thin caramel-colored woman with eyes of blue and long, black hair that was swirled neatly into a bun on top of her head. Her simple white blouse contrasted the tan tones of her skin, and her black slacks accentuated her height, emphasizing her high-standing position within the department. She also happened to be Malik's older sister.

The fact that she was even here did not bode well for Atem, and he was very aware of the severity of his situation. It had been silent since Atem had entered the office, and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to start the meeting or if they were, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep his nerves of uneasiness away the longer he stood in front of the two in silence. After another fifteen seconds passed, Atem opened his mouth.

" _Don't_."

The word was like a lash of a ruler against his hand; Malik reprimanding him like a small child. Atem closed his mouth and glanced away from his supervisor. Well, if Yugi didn't kill him, the glare Malik was sending his way just might.

"I should fire you for that stunt you pulled today," Malik said, leaning forward in his chair, hands together and fingers interlaced on his desk. "You put everyone in jeopardy, do you realize that? You're just lucky he didn't manage to get out of his restraints and cause some serious damage, or this would be an entirely different conversation and we would not be having it in my office." Malik tilted his head, strands of blond falling over his shoulder. "Care to explain yourself?" he asked.

Atem looked back up at the duo, the lines in his face tight and his insides shifting, churning. He didn't need to be told how careless he had been, how foolishly stupid and hopelessly lost he was; how far from the light he had wandered to take comfort in the soothing, fiery darkness that Yugi embodied. He put his job on the line, he put lives on the line, and it didn't sit right with him in his stomach, but if he had to do it again, he knew, in his heart, that he would. 

He might not be able to live with some of the things he'd have to do or some of the decisions he'd have to make over the next few weeks, he knew that. But he also knew, without a doubt, that he would not be able to live without Yugi either.

Not now. Not anymore. 

"I thought he'd be more likely to disclose more information about his victims if he knew there was nobody else around," Atem explained in a steady monotone. "He was shut down and guarded last week, and I thought the decreased presence would help him open up to me again."

By the look on Malik's face, he wasn't buying what Atem was selling him.

Isis, however, seemed interested by his explanation. "You have been working with Motou for an extended period of time now," she said, voice soft and almost motherly. "I imagine it has not been easy working with such a disturbed and damaged individual, and I fear that his prolonged presence in your life has affected your judgment. Despite your insistence that you were operating at full capacity, I can see now that the department underestimated the strain this case has had on you. For that, I apologize."

Isis circled the desk and came to stand next to Atem, her cobalt eyes clear of the suspicion that lingered on in her brother's. "That being said," she continued, "your actions were foolish, and you need to be held accountable for them." She glanced over her shoulder at Malik. "I will be typing up an incident report for Atem's file and we will review it together once it has been completed. Until then," she said, looking back at the psychologist, "you are formally being removed from this case and will have no further contact with Yugi Motou. You are also being placed on modified duty. You are not allowed to meet with any clients until we can evaluate this incident thoroughly. Do you understand?"

"Yes," was all Atem said.

"I'm sorry, Atem." Isis placed a hand on his shoulder and offered him a small smile. "You are one of our best and brightest, but even the best need a break sometimes. This job... it wears you down after a while. I don't want it to burn you out before your time."

He tried to return her smile, but couldn't manage even that. So, instead he gave her a nod and watched her take her leave.

The door closing behind her was too loud in the silence that seeped back into the office space following her departure. He didn't want to talk anymore; he didn't want to explain himself further or argue with his supervisor, because he simply didn't have any energy left to do so. 

But he played his part anyways and stayed in his spot as he waited for Malik to dismiss him, because if he had learned anything from Yugi, it was that they all had their roles to play - someone was always pulling the strings somewhere, he supposed.

"I don't know how we got to this point, Atem," Malik spoke suddenly, surprisingly quiet. He stood to his feet and met Atem's gaze. "You are one of my closest friends, but I feel like I barely recognize you anymore. You have become withdrawn and have distanced yourself from not only me, but from everything. I'm worried about you, Atem. I really am, but I just don't know how to help you right now."

Atem felt himself deflate a little at the sincerity in Malik's voice, at the unfamiliar gentle edge in his tone. He shifted in his stance as another glass bubble of guilt attached itself to his stomach lining, joining all it's friends there. "I'm sorry, Malik," he said, quietly. "I'm really sorry. About everything."

And he was. He was sorry that it had come to this; he was sorry that he had put Malik in such a compromising situation; he was sorry that he had betrayed Yugi's trust; he was _sorry_ about it all.

But all the apologies in the world would never be enough, he knew.

Malik took a few steps away from him, past his office desk, to come and stand by the window. It was a rainy evening, sky an overcast, and fog leaving much to be unseen. Malik sighed. "So, let me tell you this as a friend," he exhaled, eyes still on the bleak scenery outside. "If you so much as _look_ at Yugi Motou again, your career in the FBI will be over." Malik turned his gaze from the window to look at him. "Do I make myself clear?"

Atem watched him, silent for a moment, as if contemplating. Then, he gave him a stiff nod. "Crystal," he said.


	13. Admission of Guilt

"I'm going to fucking _kill_ you."

Atem released a heavy sigh at Yugi's greeting.

The man was practically hissing at his approach, resembling that of a cornered animal, warning an approaching predator to _back the fuck off_.

If a sight could break Atem's heart, it was probably this one right here - Yugi trying to back himself away from him as far across the bed as he possibly could, but the restraints holding him relatively in place and inhibiting his retreat. Yugi wanted to get away from him, that much was clear, but what was even worse was that behind the mask of righteous fury and indignation, Yugi looked almost... afraid of him.

"Please, let me explain - "

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't tear your goddamn head off, I _dare_ you," Yugi interrupted, upright on the mattress and eyes flashing a dangerous shade of indigo that demanded of Atem that the man keep his distance. The elder obliged and came to a stop in the middle of the room, hands raised and palms open in a sign of peace.

"I can't give you a reason," Atem admitted, softly. "You should be furious with me."

" _Don't_ placate me." Yugi snarled at him. "You are a cruel, selfish man for what you did yesterday."

"I know, Yugi, I know," Atem whispered, his expression pained. "I don't expect you to forgive me, trust me, I don't. I deserve your wrath, because you know what? You're right - I'm selfish, and I just can't let you go. At this point, I'll do almost anything to keep you here with me."

"Damnit, Atem, you _idiot_." Yugi rolled his eyes, appearing so utterly frustrated - like Atem was a mindless child who just didn't _get it_. "When are you going to realize that you can't save me? When is it going to get through your thick skull that there is no future for me and you?"

Atem exhaled a deep breath and shook his head, his bangs brushing against the sides of his face. "Yugi, please just hear me out? Please. Let me explain."

Yugi looked as if it took an absurd amount of restraint on his part not to roll his eyes again. "You are a fool, Atem, if you think you can just spit out an apology and - "

"No." Atem took a careful step forward. "No more apologies. I'm not going to insult you like that. I just... want to talk to you."

"Pfft..." Yugi scowled and glanced away from him. Then, just as quickly, he snapped his gaze back to Atem and eyed him wearily. "If you try to take these restraints off, I'll punch you right in the fucking face," he warned.

"I won't take them off," Atem assured, taking another step, hands still slightly raised. When Yugi didn't protest the decreasing of space between them, Atem risked another few steps towards him. He pulled the chair next to Yugi's medical bed out far enough to afford the younger man a little bit of space still and then took a seat. For the second time since he had met the sociopath, he found himself bowing his head and averting his gaze away from Yugi's terribly beautiful and all-consuming eyes.

Shame? Is that what was making him unable to look Yugi in the eye? Was it shame that had him finding comfort in staring down at his hands in his lap, instead into those captivating spheres of stormy violet?

"I'm supposed to be going back to solitary today."

Yugi's voice had lost some of it's harshness, and when Atem glanced up at him from underneath his bangs, he noticed that Yugi's gaze had also fallen to his lap. Atem wanted to reach forward and squeeze his hand or brush his fingertips over his cheek or run his fingers through his soft hair.

But Atem was painfully mindful of the fact that, for the time being, he had lost the privilege to touch Yugi in such a compassionate way, when his actions in the last twenty four hours had portrayed him to be anything but.

"I know," Atem eventually acknowledged, lowering his gaze once more. "I wish I could keep you from having to return to that... cell."

"Must be your hero complex then. I, on the other hand, will actually enjoy not having to be tied down to a single spot twenty-four seven." Yugi tried to bend his knees but the restraints were fastened tight and did not allow for more than an inch of movement. He snorted and leaned back against the raised upper portion of the medical bed instead. "Did you get caught?" he asked the psychologist after a few moments of silence, turning his head against the mattress to look at him.

"Yes." Atem sat up in his chair and finally raised his head to meet Yugi's gaze. "But Yami let me put him back into restraints before anyone found us... so I suppose it could've been much, _much_ worse than it was."

Yugi paused for a second. "Your punishment?" he asked him.

"Modified duty," Atem said simply. "I'm officially off this case. And, apparently, I'm no longer allowed to see you."

"Instructions you seem to be following in style."

"Ha." Atem offered him a small smile. "I suppose I never did get into the habit of adhering to all the rules."

Yugi raised a single eyebrow at him. "Do you not care that you're risking your job by being here with me now?" he questioned.

"Not more than I care about losing you, no." Atem fought the urge to turn away from Yugi's piercing gaze again. "That being said, _of course_ I care about my job. It's been my livelihood for years now and it's really hard to let that go. But there will be other jobs, Yugi."

Yugi scoffed and narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm not worth all of this trouble, Atem," he said.

Atem smiled again, but it looked tight and perhaps even a little sad on his lips. "Who's trying to save who now?" he quipped.

Now it was Yugi who gave a little humorless laugh. He turned his head on the mattress to stare straight ahead at the wall opposite of them. "If you're not allowed to meet with me anymore, how'd you get past the guards?" he asked, his tone curious.

Atem exhaled a loud sigh accompanied by a small shrug of his shoulders. "I've worked in the system for a very long time now, during which I've met a lot of people and have made a handful of... connections, I guess you could say. I had to pull some strings to be here today." He bit his bottom lip, shifting in his seat. "Well... I had to pull _all_ of them, really. To be honest, I probably won't be able to come see you again for a little while. That's why we need to use this time wisely. You see... there is something that I need from you, and I honestly don't think that I can find it in myself to leave here today without it."

Yugi continued to stare ahead at the wall for a few seconds, listening and processing his words, and when Yugi finally turned to look at him again, his eyes, Atem noticed, were the absolute prettiest shade of violet. "I didn't think..." Yugi started, voice quiet and breaking in the most beautiful of ways. "I didn't think I was going to see you again," he finished quietly.

Guilt.

Atem wondered how much more of it he could carry before it truly ruined him.

"Yugi..." he said in a whisper. "I will never forgive myself for what -"

"Why didn't he kill you?" Yugi snapped, lips twisting into a grimace, and his tone borderline accusatory. "What did you do?" he intoned.

Atem leaned back in his chair and looked down at the floor. He even found himself crossing his arms, as if that would somehow protect him from what was to come. He wanted to delay the inevitable; to enjoy a few more seconds of silence with his precious, unrelenting little Yugi. That so, he couldn't yet force the words from his mouth.

And it was when he made no indication that he was going to respond that Yugi's expression hardened. "Don't play me for a fool, Atem," he muttered harshly. "Yami wouldn't have passed up an opportunity to hurt me without a good fucking reason, and he _knows_ that nothing in this world could hurt me right now like you could. So, I'll ask you again... _What_ did you _do_?"

"I told him I could get him his puzzle."

The words tumbled from Atem's mouth, spilling over his lips like rushing water.

"Like _hell_ you will," was Yugi's instant, _seething_ response.

"Yugi - "

"Fuck. _You_." Yugi hissed, venom filling the delicate lines in his face. "Have you lost your goddamn mind, Atem? Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?" Yugi's eyes darkened and turned almost glassy. He looked like he wanted to cry, but was too angry to do so. "Do you know what it would do to me if he killed you because of me? Do you even fucking care?"

"For Christ's sake, Yugi," Atem mumbled angrily, tossing his hands into the air and rising from his chair to stand over the younger man. "Don't make me the bad guy here. Don't make me into this awful person for not wanting to lose you either. I mean, what the hell do you want me to do? Sit back and watch you _die_?"

Yugi was suddenly sitting upright in his bed again; at least, as much as his restraints would allow. "Don't use that as an excuse to bargain with the fucking devil, Atem!" Yugi sneered, pinning the elder with a condescending glare. "What did he promise you, huh? My freedom? _Our_ safety? Ha. You bloody fool. He'll kill us both without batting an eye. Hell, if he had his way, he'd torture you and make me watch."

"I wasn't born yesterday, Yugi. I know what kind of monster he is," Atem snapped, before permitting his features to soften a bit. "That's why I need your help. I have a plan - "

"Go fuck yourself," Yugi spat, every muscle in his body tense and his spine rigid. "I'll be damned if I help you dig your own grave."

"But - "

"No, Atem. You need to accept this fact - I'm _going_ to die. There's no way around it. Seriously, just think for a fucking second, would you? Even if we could get rid of Yami, what do you think would happen next? Do you think that we'd be able to ride off into the sunset together?" Yugi laughed coldly. "I mean, _hello!_ I'm on death row in a federal prison for killing almost two hundred people. There is no happy ending to our story, Atem."

"But - "

"Goddamnit, why do you even care so much?!"

_"Because I think I'm in fucking love with you!"_

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

There was no more fire after that; no more anger or resentment or spite.

None could exist in the waves of watery silence that immediately followed Atem's admission; the air becoming saturated and their absorbent, sponge-like hearts soaking up the sudden influx of emotions that flooded the space in between them. Atem's words, now out there, real and _stupidly, undeniably honest_ , suddenly left both men utterly exhausted and unable to exert the energy to try and keep up their defenses any longer.

So, they let them fall.

"Atem..." Yugi looked up at him and blinked - those wonderful violet eyes of his watching him, thoughtful now. "I could never love you the way you deserve to be loved. I don't know how to anymore. I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm just... broken like that now."

"Stop, Yugi."

"Don't you see, you ridiculous man?" Yugi asked, frustrated, but his voice heavy with the undertones of sadness. "We would never have a normal life together. Yami or no Yami, prison or freedom, after everything that I've been through, after all of this, I could never be... normal again."

"What makes you think I want that, Yugi?" Atem asked him, his shoulders heavy under an invisible weight. "I don't care about normal. I care about  _you_." One corner of Atem's lips curved into a small half-smile. "Even if that means I have to go head-to-head with an ancient, sadistic spirit with an _impressive_ superiority complex."

Yugi acknowledged Atem's attempt to lighten the mood and the air around them with a sigh. "Oh, just give it a rest already, would you?" Yugi muttered. "You don't even really believe that Yami is real..."

"I will admit, he is certainly testing every ounce of reason and sanity I have left." Atem stuffed his hands in his front pockets and bit the inside of his cheek, pensive for a moment. "I honestly feel crazy half the time for buying into any of this, I won't lie to you, Yugi. But I just keep telling myself that it doesn't matter, because whether he's a spirit or another personality or whatever the hell he is, he needs to fucking _go_. And you know what, Yugi? I actually do believe you." Atem drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment. "From this point forward," he said upon its release, "Yami is as real to me as he is to you."

At his declaration, Atem took note of the tangled, conflicted mess of emotions that flittered over Yugi's face in a passing, almost controlled manner. First, it touched Yugi's mouth, brushing against his partly opened lips and forcing the younger to take in a small, sharp breath. Then, it reached his cheeks, the skin there dusting over with a sunset-like pink, as if this specific mixture of emotions had forced a rush of blood to flush his face for the first time _in forever_. And then, at last, the intricate jumble of feelings passed through Yugi's now beautifully bright and shining eyes, and Atem never felt his resolve to love another person solidify as irrevocably as it did in that moment.

It was then that Atem also realized what this was for Yugi.

After all this time, someone _finally_ believed him, and the resulting sigh that fell from Yugi's lips caused a reckless reaction within Atem's heart.

_Oh..._ Atem thought, his eyes never leaving the other. _So you are the one who pulls my strings..._

"Atem."

Yugi's careful and soft voice broke him away from his thoughts. "Hm?" Atem acknowledged.

Yugi was watching him steadily, which contrasted sharply with the shaky quality of his voice. "I spent the better part of the last two years trying to get rid of the puzzle," he said, but even he could feel his will to resist the elder fading fast, crumbling under the weight of Atem's love and acceptance and belief. "I sacrificed my freedom and my family to stop Yami... And now, what? You just want me to hand it right back to him?"

"I know that I am asking a lot of you."

"You are asking _everything_ of me."

"I know," Atem assented gently. He stared down at him and removed his hands from his pockets so that he could reach out and brush the waves of silk honey away from Yugi's eyes. "Tell me this though," he ventured, his affectionate gaze broken some with sorrow and heartache. "Do you really, honestly want to die?" he asked him.

Yugi's visible hesitation and loud silence was his answer, but Atem needed to hear the words as well. "Do you, Yugi?" he pressed.

" _Of course I don't!_ " Yugi relented, a few sparks of anger flickering but unable to fully ignite again; his dark fire powerless against the soothing steady stream of water, of light, that was Atem. "But I don't want to live like this anymore, Atem. I _can't_ do it anymore, I just can't. This is the only choice I have left. There is no other way to get rid of him. Don't you think I've tried everything else already?"

"I know you've tried, Yugi, I do."

"So, why isn't that enough for you?"

"Because _I_ haven't tried."

"Damnit, Atem, I don't _want_ you to try. I don't want you to get yourself fucking killed."

"Oh, Yugi..." Atem sat back down in his chair, pulling it closer to the bed this time so that he could look directly into Yugi's eyes as he spoke. "I know that you want to protect me, you kind, selfless, incredible man - I know. But you have unwittingly intertwined yourself into every facet of my life, and I am helpless to that truth. So, if you think, for even one moment, that I won't fight with my life to keep you here with me, then you're the fool.

"That being said, I am so fucking tired, Yugi. I'm so tired of fighting both you and Yami on my own, and I don't think that I can do it anymore. I'm exhausted, and I know you are too. If this is going to work, if we even have a shot in hell of this working, then I need you on my side. Please, Yugi. I know it's not fair of me to ask, but... I need you to help me. I need you to help me save you..."

Yugi had looked away from him at some point, had shied away from his words, but Atem did not hesitate this time in cupping Yugi's chin and bringing those eyes of baby blues and purple petals back to him.

He'd _always_ bring Yugi back to him.

"I only want to be on your side, Atem," Yugi spoke quietly, softer now, "but can't you see? If we do this, if we give Yami the puzzle and things don't go according to your plan, then people could get hurt. They could die, Atem. They _will_ die." Yugi's expression was etched with apprehension. "Can you live with yourself if that happened? Trust me when I tell you that it takes a piece of you, of your soul, Atem, to play a part in someone else's death."

Yugi hadn't even finished speaking before Atem had moved the hand from his chin to place it on the side of his face instead, his open palm warm against Yugi's cheek. "It won't take more from me than losing you will," Atem said simply.

"This isn't going to work," Yugi argued still. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work. He's too powerful."

Atem shrugged and brushed the pad of his thumb against Yugi's cheekbone. "Then at least we'll go down together," he replied.

Yugi opened his mouth, looking to protest again, which is why the word that slipped from his mouth seemed to come as a surprise to both of them.

"Okay..."

And there it was, in one awfully wondrous two-syllable utterance; a single word that encompassed everything that Atem had come here for.

Yugi's consent.

" _God_ ," Atem breathed out with barely contained relief. He immediately brought his free hand to rest against Yugi's other cheek and leaned forward to press his lips to the crown of Yugi's forehead. "Thank you, Yugi," he whispered, holding his face close.

"Whatever," Yugi muttered, his body, almost unwillingly, relaxing into Atem's touch. "Just tell me what you want me to do. I don't have much longer before Yami takes over, and I want you gone before he does."

"He won't." To Yugi's questioning look, Atem added: "It was part of our deal. He won't bother you anymore - or anyone else for that matter. At least, not until I bring him his puzzle."

For a moment, Yugi looked stuck somewhere between true, genuine relief and utter, crippling skepticism. So, to reassure, Atem pressed his lips to Yugi's face again, to his cheek, and told him again, this time in no uncertain terms, that he loved him. 

"So, are you going to tell me about this plan of yours or not?" Yugi eventually asked, seemingly calmer now. 

"I'll tell you," Atem promised and reluctantly let his hands fall from the boy's face. He remained close, only a few inches away from the other. "But not now," he added. "There are some moving pieces I need to take care of first, and we'll need some help. Once everything is figured out though, I'll tell you my plan, I swear."

"Help?" Yugi repeated, appearing genuinely surprised by the notion. "Who in their right mind would help us?" he asked.

Atem smiled, small and sincere. "I don't want you to worry about any of that right now. I'll figure it all out." Atem moved forward again to whisper this into his ear. "Until then, Yugi, until I figure out a way to see you again... I need you to take care of yourself, okay?"

Yugi nodded tentatively, then tilted his head down and to the side so that he could sigh against Atem's jaw. "You too," he mumbled into the warm skin he found there. He felt Atem hesitate and, in that moment, realized how much the other wanted to just stay here, with him, and let everything else fall away. But Atem was strong in all ways but one, and it was that strength, Yugi knew, that enabled Atem to pull away from him and turn to leave.

And as Yugi watched him, the younger man was unable to suppress the part of him that hoped, prayed even, that Atem would walk out of that door and never return.

But being Atem's only weakness, Yugi knew that the other would always come back to him, no matter the cost to do so.

Atem would _always_ come back to him.


	14. A Risky Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic Description of Self-Inflicted Wounds. Read at your own discretion.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. You know, I was wondering who could possibly have the gall to pull me from my yard time for a visit. Figures it'd be you."

The voice was heavy; thick with an unrefined accent and weighed down by the sheer amount of amusement lacing each coarse syllable. The thin dark brown irises of the prisoner's eyes, Atem noted, appeared almost black in the dim overhead lighting of the consult room. His skin looked paler than Atem had remembered it, and the flesh had accrued a rash of battle wounds since his admittance to M.P. two years ago, evident by the slew of scars littering his hands, running up his forearms, and circling his biceps. Even the inmate's neck and face displayed a few thin white slithers of raised skin.

Still standing in the threshold of the door, Atem glanced around the room to complete a small intake of his surroundings. The consult room, he realized, was similar in size and layout to the one he had initially been holding sessions with Yugi in. But instead of Yugi, instead of his bundle of addictive chaos and soft eyes, there was Bakura Afekia - a psychopath and a serial killer, who had been charged and sentenced with thirty-three gruesome murders.

There were more, though...

Everyone knew that there were more than thirty-three bodies; everyone knew that there were more victims not yet unearthed.

But without bodies or DNA evidence, the prosecution could only move forward with what they had at the time.

So, thirty-three it was.

Bakura was staring up at him now from his chained seated spot at the table in the middle of the room, chewing on a toothpick that he could probably kill someone with if he so wished to. Atem acknowledged the two guards positioned in the corners of the room behind Bakura with a nod.

"It's been a while," Atem finally relented, gazing at the psychopath.

"It sure as hell has. Man, you have balls of steel showing up here, I'll give you that." Bakura gestured to the seat across from him. "Take a seat, Atem."

"I'd rather stand if it's all the same."

"It's not."

Atem stayed put.

It had been a while since he had played the game with anyone other than Yugi and well, that game was never a fair one, now was it?

With his line of vision unobstructed by eyes that resembled fields of lilacs, Atem was able to find footing in all his years of training and, with that, the determination to approach this interaction with as much reason and composure as possible. He had too much to lose if this encounter did not end with his desired outcome.

But Bakura didn't need to know that.

"I will sit in a moment," Atem intoned steadily. He leaned his back against the wall by the consult room door and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his pants. He knew that he could not outright challenge Bakura's authority, especially when he was coming to the prisoner with a request for help, but Atem also had no intention of bowing down to Bakura's every command. After all, to do so would have been the quickest and surest way to lose Bakura's interest.

"Suit yourself," Bakura said. Then, he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at him. "How's the cat - ahh...Mr. Whiskers, right? How's he doing these days?"

Atem lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. "Alive. So that counts for something, I suppose."

"Sure." Bakura snorted, unimpressed. "By the way, have you been getting my letters?"

"Yup," Atem said. "Though I haven't gotten around to reading most of them. I've been rather busy lately. To be honest, I wasn't aware that I had made such an impression on you to warrant all of this attention."

"Ha!" Bakura's lips pulled into a crooked grin, his teeth filling in the space in his mouth. "I see you haven't changed, you little fucker." He yanked the toothpick from in between his teeth and pointed it at Atem. "But I know you didn't come here to catch up for old time's sake, so be straight with me. Why are you here?"

Atem remembered this feeling - this sudden apprehension that he was trying to keep under wraps in Bakura's presence. It was those words, those acidic words that made his throat burn and his stomach churn with the threat of bile. It was that awful feeling of opening one's self up to someone who would sooner see you perish than lend a helping hand. In Yami's case, Atem had used the puzzle as leverage. With Bakura, he needed something equally as desirable, or the psychopath would not hesitate to fuck him over, _hard_.

Atem inhaled a deep, silent breath. He could already feel his fingertips prickling with heat. He was playing with too much fire, and he knew that he was bound to get burned sooner or later.

"I need a favor."

Bakura's grin immediately vanished. "A favor?"

Atem remained expressionless. "Yes."

"Wait. You, Atem Sennen, are asking _me_ for a favor?" Bakura's features changed almost instantly, a nasty smile crawling across his face and his eyes darkening a few shades in delight. "Hold on a minute. Let me savor this moment."

"I don't have time for this."

"If you have the nerve to ask me for a favor, you'll _make_ time," Bakura hissed darkly, the cuffs around his wrists clinking against the chains connecting him to the table. His smile returned only a moment later, and he popped the toothpick back in his mouth to roll it along his tongue thoughtfully. "Oh, how the tables have turned. The last I recall, I was the one asking _you_ for help." Bakura glanced down at his bound hands and then back up at Atem. "I'm not really reaping the benefits of that decision, now am I?"

"I did help you, Bakura."

"Your testimony _helped_ sentence me to life."

"My testimony is what kept you from the death penalty." Atem eased off the wall and walked towards him. "If I did not discuss in detail the horrific sexual and physical abuse you suffered at the hands of your father as a child, the judge would've not been nearly as sympathetic."

"So, what? You think I owe you?" Bakura scowled. "You think I should be grateful to you for letting them keep me caged in here like an animal?"

"Unless you'd rather I had let them put you _down_ like one, then _yes_."

It was silent then, the occupants in the center of the room staring the other down with an amicable ferocity long since cooled over. Atem took a step forward to stand tall next to the table. He gestured towards the open chair across from the prisoner. Bakura eyed him for a few seconds longer.

Then, he nodded.

"So," Bakura started, watching intently as Atem pulled out the chair and lowered himself onto the seat. "Regardless of what you believe you are owed, my help does not come without a price, and I am just such a picky bastard. What could you possibly have that I would - ?"

"I can get you transferred," Atem cut in. He leaned forward to look Bakura directly in the eye. "Closer to Ryou."

It was subtle, the change in Bakura's demeanor, but Atem could see the psychopath's posture become rigid, and his eyes take on a brighter hue.

Ryou Lilaski.

A twenty-three year old, London-born man who had moved to the States at the age of eighteen to pursue a career in nursing. He had graduated with his Bachelor's, Summa Cum Laude, and had passed the NCLEX with flying colors. Almost immediately following his exam, he had been hired as a night shift RN on the Oncology Unit at Domino Children's Hospital. He had the sweetest disposition, doe-brown eyes that appeared almost hazel in the right amount of sunlight, and topples of snowy white hair that tumbled down the length of his back.

Oh yes, Atem knew him well, knew everything there was to know about Ryou Lilaski, because on top of all that he had achieved in his short life, Ryou was also, to date, Bakura's only surviving victim.

A psychopath who had found pleasure in the objectification and torture of his male victims, Bakura had been terrorizing the city of Domino long before Yugi was even a blimp on the radar. His reign had lasted years, and due to his pattern of tracking and kidnapping his victims in the late hours of the night, the city had dubbed him as The Nightstalker.

The men who Bakura had targeted were always young, in their twenties, with dark eyes and light hair. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly how long he kept them hostage because the autopsy reports always varied, but it was clear that Bakura would torture them for extended periods of time. Then, when he was bored or when they had died from the trauma, he would dismember his victims and dispose of them in various swamp and park lands. From the body parts found, there was never actually any indication of rape, but there was plenty of evidence of sexual trauma - gashes and marks from tools that matched ones found in Bakura's garage. At the time, Atem proposed that it was the power he held over his victims, that it was the control that Bakura craved, and that sex was simply not a part of his _modus operandi_.

There was never a trial.

Bakura had no interest in having one, and he openly admitted to all the murders of the victims found up to that point - no more, no less - with a mix of boredom and amusement.

And then he had asked to see Ryou.

Years ago, during one of their sessions, Bakura had told Atem that all of his victims had begged for him to spare them. All had pleaded for their lives; some of them had even offered him money or expensive jewels - anything really just to make him stop.

But then there was Ryou.

Thin, fragile, gentle little Ryou who refused to beg Bakura for his life; refused to scream, despite days of torture. The poor man nearly bit his entire bottom lip off in his struggle not to submit and give Bakura what he wanted.

 _"You know what the only thing Ryou ever said to me was?"_ Bakura had once asked him. _"He said, 'You're going to have to kill me, because I'd rather be dead than surrender to a monster like you.'"_

Ryou had managed to escape a few days into his capture by gnawing into his wrists so deeply with his teeth that he was able to slip out of his restraints. And it was Ryou's physical description of the perpetrator, and the location of the house where he had been kept that had led to Bakura's arrest.

Bakura, like Yami, was incapable of genuine love or remorse. But his inability to control Ryou had resonated with something deep inside of him and, in Bakura's twisted mind, he now felt as if he and Ryou were forever bonded, in spite of the fact that Bakura was barred in every way, shape, and form from contacting Ryou. This had been a gamble, Atem knew it had been, but he had hoped that simply being closer to Ryou would fulfill some sick need in Bakura's head and give him back some semblance of control.

"How?" was all Bakura said.

"I know the DA," Atem said, quieter now. "Anzu Mazaki. She owes me a favor. Just one favor, though. If you agree to help me, then I can get you transferred."

Bakura narrowed his gaze at him. "I want it in paper," he said.

"That can be done."

Bakura paused, his expression still dark. It took another moment for his features to relax. "Fine," he finally said. "What do you need?"

Atem glanced in between the guards still stationed in the corners of the room. Bakura noticed this and waved him off. "They're mine. Pay them no mind. I'm sure they've heard a lot worse than what you're about to ask me."

In any other context, Atem would have found that unsettling, but in this case, it reinforced his belief that he had come to the right person.

Atem, quite frankly, didn't have time to think of the systematic flaws in the prison. He had more pressing matters to attend to, and Bakura's connections were the only thing that would move his plan forward.

It was no secret that Bakura had found his calling in the prison system and ran the place to a _T_.

Drugs, weapons, food, money, it didn't matter. If it was exchanging hands, if it was coming or going to and from the prison, you knew Bakura played a role in the transaction from behind the scenes. No one knew how high up his connects went; he pulled so many strings in the prison, Atem wouldn't have been surprised if he even had the warden in his pocket. In this year alone, there had been multiple internal investigations, but Bakura somehow always came back clean.

None of that mattered now, though.

All that mattered was if Bakura could pull through for him on this.

Atem leaned against the back of the chair and stared at the prisoner across from him. "I need to get Yugi out of solitary."

"That Motou kid?"

"Yes." Atem glanced again at one of the guards who appeared to be paying neither psychopath nor psychologist any mind. He gazed back at Bakura. "I need to get him out of solitary, and I'll also need some time with him... alone. Can you do that?"

Bakura's grin was wicked. "Why, you tryna fuck him?"

It was a show of restraint that Atem didn't stand up and drag Bakura across the table. "Can you do it or not?" Atem asked, voice steady.

Bakura rolled his eyes, toothpick bobbing in his mouth as he looked up at the ceiling, appearing as if he was mulling it over. "It'll take some time," Bakura responded, "but yes, I can get him out. Temporarily. As for being alone, I probably can make sure that some... miscommunication occurs between shifts." Bakura pursed his lips for a moment. "How do I know this isn't a set up?"

"It's not," Atem replied sharply. "I'm risking my job simply by being here. I know you have your leaks in the department. Look into it if you don't believe me."

"I will," Bakura said, then raised a brow at him. "Is that all you need?"

"There's one more thing." Atem drew in a deep breath, swallowing his sudden hesitation to continue. He needed to do this; this was the most crucial piece of his plan. "It concerns... dark arts, of sorts."

Bakura shrugged, suddenly looking absurdly bored. "Sure, what about it?"

"You got a pen and paper?" Atem asked.

Bakura looked at him, curiosity slowly seeping back into his features, before he snapped his fingers. A guard came forward then, pulling a pen from his breast pocket and a small notebook pad from his belt clip. He deposited the items onto the table, then moved back into the corner of the room.

Atem opened his mouth to comment, but thought better of it. He opened the pad's front cover and ripped out a clean sheet, then scribbled down two sentences. There was no need to go into details here. Bakura really didn't care for details. It didn't matter anyways. Bakura would believe in fucking Santa Claus if it got him a pack of cigarettes.

Atem slid the paper on the table over to Bakura, and the prisoner glanced down at the writing, before raising his head again to shoot Atem a look.

"That's gonna cost you," Bakura said, crumbling the paper in his hand.

Atem straightened in his chair. "Name it."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

It was difficult to maintain a firm grasp on time in solitary confinement.

There were no windows down in this section of the prison, so there was no natural light - from the sun or the moon - to help Yugi determine the time of day. The only light in his cell, as dim and artificial as it was, came from a row of small lightbulbs that lined the ceiling and which were protected by multi-layered sheets of plexiglass. An unnecessary precaution, Yugi decided, given that the bulbs were well out of reach for even the tallest of prisoners. One protective sheet could've surely sufficed, he reasoned.

But he supposed that the prison administration must've determined that it was better to be safe than to be sorry. Especially since 'sorry' in this scenario could amount to a possible casualty if the bulbs were to be broken and used as a weapon.

Yugi sighed and shifted his focus from the overhead lighting to his nearly-healed hand. They had removed the splint a few days ago, and he had been instructed to use it sparingly with the exception of light 'exercises' to aid in the healing process. Yugi repositioned himself in his bed and sat up straight to rest his back against the wall. He slowly closed his hand into a fist, his fingertips brushing over his palm, before he allowed it to open up again. The movement was stiff, and he repeated the motions until the action began to feel more natural and fluid.

He briefly wondered what day of the month it was. He had been spending so much time sleeping recently that he was finding it harder and harder to keep track of the days. To his credit, however, he had been attempting to keep track of his meals, which he was provided three of a day. By doing so, he was able to roughly estimate that it had been approximately 20 days - give or take - since he had last seen Atem (and to the same effect, Yami).

Yugi exhaled deeply through his nose and leaned his head back against the wall to stare back up at the lights. He hadn't heard from Atem in what felt like so long, and the relief that he felt knowing that Atem was somewhere else and safe from him battled with the crushing loneliness that Atem's absence provided.

As much as he loved the man - and oh, how he _loved_ Atem with the very last pieces of his soul - Yugi had always thought of him as a foolish man. A man who sought to solve problems that had no solutions and who believed that he could stare down life's darkest monsters and come out on the other side unscathed and unchanged. Atem did not comprehend the extent of the sacrifice he was making; he did not realize that simply by interacting with Yami, he was welcoming the presence of darkness into his life. No matter how seemingly innocent it appeared, a mere exchange with an entity as dark and unholy as Yami, as perhaps even the devil himself, would forever taint parts of Atem's soul and provide the shadows in his heart a safe haven to exist.

But if Atem was a fool, Yugi mused, then what did that make him? A man who knew that nothing but despair and destruction would arise from whatever Atem was planning, but was allowing it all to happen anyways. A man who would risk the demise of many for the sake of one. Is that what love was? Yugi had almost forgotten; he had spent so long in the dark that the light of Atem's love was blinding him. It was making him stupid and reckless. It was distorting his rational thinking.

Yugi started, a bit caught off-guard when the lower slot of the cell's metal door clicked loudly. He sat up straighter in the bed and watched as the slot was unlocked, and the flap opened up on its hinges. A styrofoam tray slid towards him with a paper plate in its center full of greens and white meat and some kind of starch. A plastic cup of water and an apple sat idly next to the plate.

Yugi stood from the bed and walked until he could reach out and wrap his hands around the tray, pulling it out from the small opening. He listened as the slot clanked back into place and the lock was fastened once more. He found his way back to his bed and, as he lowered himself down onto the mattress with his tray in his lap, he allowed his mind to wander back to Atem.

Back to those arms that held him without fear or judgement, back to those lips that kissed his face without hesitation, back to the feel of those hands brushing through his hair without worry, and back to those eyes of painfully beautiful scarlet that loved him regardless of the ugliness of his soul.

The sensation that bloomed in chest was nearly painful.

His body, his mind, his very spirit fought against the notion of Yami getting his hands on the puzzle again. It went against every part of him to relent, it did. But not even all these separate aspects of his being had the combined strength to overpower his heart's desire to be close to Atem, instead of at constant odds; to submit to Atem, instead of fighting him every step of the way. For Yugi knew, more than he knew of anything else in this world, that in the middle of all the chaos and the devastation and the pain, that it was only in the fleeting moments buried between Atem's arms that he knew true peace. And Yugi guessed, in the end, that made him a truly selfish man for wanting so desperately to be with Atem and to feel at peace again that he would risk unleashing the shadows of hell upon the world again.

That right there... that was the self-serving darkness in his own heart; darkness that Yami had introduced into his life, but that by now had become a part of Yugi's own soul, too.

He was far from a being of light anymore.

Yugi closed his eyes, his chest twisting so tight he was sure he was being ripped apart from the inside out. He shifted to move the tray away and off his bed, so that he could curl under his sheets and succumb to the silence of his dreamless sleeps. All the noise in his head and all the pain in his heart was too much to tolerate in a conscious state. 

It was when Yugi went to move the tray from his lap that he first noticed the shine; the glimpse of something small and silver sticking out from underneath the paper plate. Yugi furrowed his eyebrows and raised his hand, fingers gripping the underside of the plate and tilting it up and to the side. His eyes widened.

A scalpel.

Thin and shiny, with the sharpest point.

Without moving, Yugi glanced up with only his eyes at the small security camera on the ceiling, out of his reach and protected inside the wall. At the angle he was sitting on his bed and had raised the plate, he was sure the blade could not be seen. He lowered the plate back down completely and reached for the apple, putting it to his lips and taking a small bite as his mind raced alongside the stammering of his heart.

This was purposeful. There was intent here for him to have this. Guards didn't accidentally slip in potential murder weapons with prisoner's dinner trays.

Someone was telling him something.

Only Atem.

... But why?

Atem would never expect him to use it against the guards. The psychologist had been down in solitary enough times to know that even if Yugi were to strike down the first round of guards that there were layers and layers of gates and passcodes and keys that he simply didn't have access to. Not to mention, if Yugi wielded a weapon at the guards, they could justifiably and legally use force to protect themselves. No, Atem would never want that...

Yugi took another bite, inhaled a deep breath through his nose, and glanced again at the camera. If Atem didn't want him to use it against someone else then why would...?

Yugi stopped chewing. His eyes found the small, silver tip still peeking out from underneath the plate.

Atem wanted him out of solitary.

Yugi turned in his bed with the tray still on his lap and kept his back to the camera. He didn't have a lot of time to question the absolute _madness_ of what was happening, he couldn't risk Yami breaking his end of the bargain, taking over, and having a weapon at his disposal. _Fuck_ , this was risky and foolish even for Atem - _Christ, what was that man thinking?_

Yugi shook his head, trying to clear his head of all the racing thoughts. He needed to calm; he needed to breathe and focus on the task at hand.

Not allowing himself the chance to hesitate any further, Yugi moved the plate and gripped the thin scalpel in his right hand, the tip of his index finger coming to rest on the back of the blade. He had to do this right; he had to play his part. If he cut himself too deep, it could kill him, and too little would not warrant him a place back in the infirmary.

He brought the tip of the blade to the inside of his wrist, to the softest part where his veins raised like gentle blue hills against the paleness of his skin. He opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath. Then, he pressed down, hard, forcing the skin on either side of the blade to dent in, before it split apart, a wet bubble of crimson instantly submerging the tip of the blade. He bit his lip at the immediate surge of searing pain, tasted the metallic copper in his mouth, and inhaled another deep breath, before he dragged the blade up the inside of his forearm, streams of blood bursting from the veins within and rushing over the sides of his arm in spirals of red ribbons.

Halfway up his arm, he retracted the scalpel and threw it towards the opposite side of the room. He gazed down at the first layers of muscles split inside of his arm, at the blood pouring from the cut, splashing his bed sheets in a rain of ruby diamonds.

He turned fully to face the security camera then. He felt stomach begin to churn, bile rising in his throat, and when his head started spinning, he decided to lay back down against his bed. He closed his eyes and waited.

Your move, Atem.


	15. The Calm Before

When Atem had heard the news, he saw _red_.

Like actual red and black tendrils crawling into his pupils and obscuring his vision.

The rage that gripped at his core was consuming; it overrode his senses and invaded his system with a venom so poisonous and deadly that it was nearly blinding him.

He all but came crashing into the consult room, and when his eyes found Bakura seated at the table in the middle of the room, he stalked over to him in three long strides. "You fucking _bastard_!" Atem seethed, his hands finding the gray collar of Bakura's jumpsuit, as he dragged the prisoner out of his chair. The chains hooking Bakura's handcuffs to the table snapped tight with the sudden tension, and the two guards in the room immediately moved forward to intervene, only to stop short when Bakura sent a heated glare their way.

When Bakura returned his eyes to Atem, it was with a smile on his face. "You seem tense, Atem. What seems to be the problem?"

"You gave him a knife?!" Atem snarled in his face, his grip constricting the fabric around Bakura's throat. "Yugi's in the infirmary again. His wounds were so deep, he needed sutures, you fucking parasite."

"You needed him out of solitary, no?"

Atem hissed and tightened his hold around the scuff of the jumpsuit even further, completely disregarding the flush of color that was filling Bakura's face at an alarming rate. "He could've fucking _died_. He could've actually tried to kill himself. _I_ could've lost him."

Bakura's laugh was loud and full of amusement, but it was broken in places that he needed to pause to suck tiny gulps of oxygen into his lungs. "T-The fuck I look like, Atem, a Burger King?" he snapped, his voice straining. "You can't have it your way. I did w-what you asked. The means of w-which I did so were never d-discussed."

"I should fucking kill you - "

"Try it, I _dare_ you."

Atem's hands were fisted so tight into the fabric around Bakura's throat that the man's face had taken on a purplish red hue - a clear and distinct warning for Atem to stop.

But he _couldn't_.

He was shaking too hard; his entire body was _violently_ shaking. He had never felt this raw in his life, had never felt this overwhelmed by rage, as he stared down the man who had put Yugi's life in jeopardy, who had placed all that he knew and loved and held close to his heart in harm's way.

And he knew, he _knew_ that Bakura had done this on purpose. It had been a jab on the psychopath's part; a show of power, a means to hurt Atem as much as he possibly could while still meeting his end of the bargain. He had used Yugi against him, he had used his very own heart against him, and Atem wanted to _kill_ him for it.

Atem closed his eyes, every muscle in his body trembling as he slowly lowered Bakura back down onto his seat and released his hold. Ignoring the other man's loud coughing fit, Atem took a few steps back from Bakura, nearly stumbling as he did so, before he turned around to cross the room completely. He wanted to hit something - _anything_ , he didn't care, he just needed an outlet for this consuming wrath that was threatening to devour his soul and reveal him as a true monster.

Atem came to a stop at the far wall, his fingers twitching as he gripped the cement and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. His breaths were ragged; shaky. He needed to calm down. He needed to calm the storm inside of him. He _needed_ Yugi - it had been too long, and he needed the boy's dark fiery warmth to soothe him. He needed those eyes of purple and blue pools to submerge him in their depths, swallow him whole, and allow him to forget himself - to forget that just for one moment, he honestly felt as if he could kill another human being.

"Huh. Interesting."

Bakura's comment was sudden and loud enough to draw Atem back into the room from the recesses of his mind and inner turmoil.

"Guess you and I aren't so different after all," the psychopath continued.

"I'm nothing like you," Atem spat over his shoulder, his temple still flush against the wall.

"I know what the desire to end a life looks like, though I seldom find myself on the receiving end of it," Bakura responded, sounding intrigued by the notion. "You love that boy?" he asked.

Atem turned to face him then, his back slumping against the wall as he tried to regain his senses, despite the sheer force of emotions still running rampant inside of him. Most of Bakura's pale color had returned to his face, but his cheeks were still holding onto a pinkish blush. It was nothing though in comparison to the nasty red rings of indented flesh around his neck.

Atem processed the question directed at him at a slow pace and determined that it didn't warrant a response. They both already knew the answer anyways. So, Atem settled for glaring at the other man instead, dark and warning-like.

Bakura simply shrugged then gave another cough, before speaking again. "You're an idiot," he said. "Want some advice? Wrap that shit up tight. I actually like the squirt, he's funny as all get-out, but hell, I'd kill him to see you squirm like this and so would allota other folks here. You don't have many friends in this prison, y'know. Honestly, you're just lucky you have something I want."

Atem leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling, his thoughts slowing and heart rate falling back into pace as the muscles in his body began to relax. The rush of emotions were flooding out of him now, leaving only blotches of cold, bitter anger behind. "If you, or anyone else, lays a hand on him - "

"You are _not_ in the position to be making threats, Atem. Do yourself a favor and remember your place. You are not the one in control here."

Atem lowered his head to level his gaze with Bakura's once more, his teeth grinding together hard enough for his jaw to crack. "Whatever you say," he hissed.

"Ah, finally the man gets some sense." Bakura grinned and reached out his hands to gesture to the seat across from him. "Now then, let's you and me talk business."

Atem glanced at the seat, before returning his gaze to the prisoner. He eased himself off the wall and walked over to him, ignoring the open chair in favor of standing over Bakura. His face set hard and lips drawn into a tight, thin line, Atem reached into his back pocket, his hand returning into view a moment later with a white envelope. He lowered it into the prisoner's hands and watched as Bakura, smiles and all, pulled the letter from its confines and opened it at its creases.

"Alright then," Bakura said after he had skimmed through the content. "You did good, 'Temy."

Atem scowled at him, his eyes darkening to a shade of volcanic red. "Your transfer is immediately void if you think about stepping out of line. You need me alive. You need Yugi alive. Remember that."

"Yeah, yeah." Bakura waved him off, refolding the letter and stuffing it back in the envelope. He raised an eyebrow at Atem. "What about the second part of our agreement? You got the goods?"

Atem narrowed his gaze, then reached into his other back pocket and produced a pack of Azzins, a brand of cigarettes specific to his grandparent's homeland of Egypt, along with a book of matches. Bakura's eyes brightened in glee, the equivalent of a Christmas morning for him, as Atem deposited the items on the table.

"I've been trying to get my hands on these for far too long," Bakura said, tearing off the plastic, opening the cover, and pulling a single cigarette out to place in his mouth. He struck a match and, unable to raise his cuffed hands to his lips, ducked his head to light his cigarette. The guards, Atem noticed, didn't even blink.

"Consider my end of the bargain complete." Atem moved from his spot over Bakura to circle the table and stare down at the other.

"Considered." Bakura took a drag of his cigarette and grinned. "Just tell me the date and time."

"I'll let you know," Atem said, the edge in his voice hard. "Standby till then."

"Got it, boss." Bakura saluted him, then shot him a questioning look. "I take it we're done here?"

Atem nodded, but instead of turning to leave, he leaned forward, hands on the table, to loom over Bakura.

Yes, Bakura had managed to get under his skin. Yes, his well-constructed facade had been broken. Yes, his biggest weakness had been put out on display.

Quite frankly though, at that moment, Atem didn't truly actually give a damn.

"I want you to understand this, Bakura," Atem said, his voice a calm, steady monotone. "I don't care who you are or who you own. If you put Yugi in harm's way again, I will make it the sole purpose in _my_ life to make _your_ life unbearable. Understood?"

Bakura's smile was wide and sharp enough to nearly split his face in half. "Hey, we're all friends here, right?" He leaned back in his chair, blowing a cloud smoke into the air above him. "Here, let me make it up to you," he said. "How about you go see the squirt tomorrow - on me. I'll make sure the room is empty for an hour starting at three o'clock, and then we can put all of this mess behind us. I know you're angry right now, but don't forget Atem - you and me? We're on the same team here."

Atem opened his mouth to respond, but no, _fuck it_ , he was done.

So, he snapped his mouth close, pushed off the table, and left the room without another word.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Atem had never seen Yugi's skin such a ghost-white before.

He looked so young, child-like even, lying there asleep in the medical bed, sheets up to his chest and his hair a tousled mess of ebony and gold curls. His heart-shaped face, with its gentle curves and soft edges, beckoned Atem forward and further into the room.

This could be it, Atem thought. This could be the moment that all the guilt that he had been carrying over the past few months broke him in completely, because there, right there in front of him, was Yugi, his entire world wrapped up in the steady heartbeat of another, and the boy was there in that infirmary medical bed because of him.

Atem caught sight of the bandaged left arm lying out on top of the sheets by Yugi's side and glared at the restraint layering the gauze by the top of his wrist.

"It's not as bad as it looks."

Atem raised his head, found Yugi's eyes, and for the first time in almost three weeks, he felt like he could actually breathe. "I thought you were sleeping," Atem said softly.

Yugi gave him a little shrug and sat up in the bed, the sheets pooling by his waist. "Hard to sleep with the nurse up my ass all the time. Guess that's what happens when you dig a hole into your arm."

Atem felt unsteady all of a sudden, so he settled himself down on the chair by the medical bed. "Yugi," he said faintly. "I am so sorry. This is all my fault."

Yugi tilted his head. "I'm guessing you needed me out of solitary," he said, then paused for a second, his gaze falling to the bed sheets. "I'd be lying if I said I'm not a bit surprised by your methods... I wasn't expecting - "

"Oh, Yugi,  _no_." Atem leaned forward in his chair, ducking his head to catch the other man's eyes. "You think I wanted this? It kills me to see you like this. I just... _God_." Atem raked his hand through his hair and sighed. "I didn't know this was going to happen. If I had known, I would have come up with another way to make this all work. When I had asked Bakura to help get you out, I thought - "

"Bakura," Yugi cut in sharply, his expression hardening. "As in, Bakura Afekia?"

Atem inwardly winced at the tone. "Yes."

"Oh, well isn't that just bloody perfect?" Yugi snapped at him. "One psychopath wasn't enough for you, huh? You wanted to get two of them involved, is that it? What the actual fuck are you _thinking,_ Atem?"

Yugi's words were like razor blades, stabbing right into him with their sharp edges. Atem placed a hand over the center of his chest to soothe the sudden  _ache_ there.

Yugi noticed the movement, and his gaze immediately softened. "Come here, Atem," he sighed, patting the space next to him. He waited until Atem had moved from the chair to take a seat next to him on the mattress, before offering the other a small frown. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to snap at you. I know you are just trying to help."

"You don't need to apologize to me, Yugi." Atem allowed his fingers to trace the dressings on Yugi's arm, his eyes remaining at a downcast. "I should be the one apologizing. Seeing you like this... it _hurts_. You are everything to me, and I feel like I can't even protect you. I'm playing with fire, and you're the one who's getting burned."

Yugi watched Atem's fingers as they caressed his bandages. "I can handle a little burn, Atem," he assured him. "Seriously, you fuss over me too much."

The corner of Atem's lips twitched. "Yeah, well, when you spend more time in the infirmary than you do your cell, I think it warrants a certain level of fussing."

Yugi chuckled, but noticed that Atem's saddened gaze was still locked onto his arm. "Hey," he said gently. He waited until Atem lifted his head to catch his eyes. "I've missed you."

Atem couldn't stop the smile that pulled at his lips. "I've missed you too Yugi," he said, reaching out to touch his cheek. "Being apart from you for this long is... really fucking hard."

Yugi shied away from the heavy weight of emotion in Atem's words and looked down at his lap. He felt Atem's fingers slide down the side of his face to come and press under his chin, tilting his head back up. "Don't look away from me," Atem said. "It drives me crazy when you turn those eyes away from me." Atem dropped his hand from Yugi's chin to fall on top of the boy's secured wrist. "Can I...?"

Yugi caught his meaning immediately. "I don't think it's a good idea," he said.

"But I want to be close to you."

"I don't want to put you in danger again though. Just you being here is a risk. Yami will - "

" - do nothing," Atem interrupted, confident and reassuring. "You said it yourself. Yami wants the puzzle more than anything else, more than he wants to hurt you or me. He promised he would not harm either of us with the understanding that I will deliver the puzzle to him. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him, but I do know that until the puzzle is in his possession, he will abide by his word." Atem ran his fingers gently over Yugi's bicep, humming at the warmth radiating off the boy's tender skin. "And besides," Atem continued, quietly. "You'll feel his presence before he surfaces, right?"

Yugi nodded hesitantly, his eyes closing at the feel of Atem's rubbing circles on his arm and up his shoulder. "Yes. At least, without the puzzle. When he has it, the transition is immediate."

"But without it, we'll have a little bit of warning, right? You just tell me, and I will put you back in the restraints and leave." Yugi eyed him suspiciously at that. "I promise you."

Atem lowered his hand from Yugi's shoulder back down to pull at the flap of his left wrist restraint. He glanced up briefly at Yugi and waited for his consent.

When Yugi nodded, he went about unfastening the Velcro in a few quick motions. He repeated his actions with the right wrist, then pushed the sheets to the corner of the bed to unstrap his ankles. Once Yugi was free and unbounded and had laid back onto the mattress, Atem shifted in the bed and moved into the small space next to Yugi, cautious of the other's wounded arm. He rested his head against Yugi's chest, listened to the heartbeat he found there and, as Atem's mind began to wander, he took to counting the pitter patter of beats in his head.

In an ideal world, he would have met Yugi years ago, before Yami had ever become a part of his life. He would've crossed paths with Yugi long before his trip to Egypt, and Atem would've fallen for him. He knew; he had no doubt in his mind that no matter the lifetime, no matter the place, he would fall in love with Yugi every single time.

After college, Atem would've joined him in his trip to Egypt and would've dragged him to another dig site closer to his grandparents so that Yugi could've met them. Yugi would've never found the puzzle, and they would've returned to the States (or Florence; perhaps maybe even Barcelona) to live out the rest of their lives together.

He imagined that Yugi would've been as playful as he was now, but with a more gentle edge. Atem could picture Yugi splashing in large rain puddles with the sole intent of soaking the elder to the bone or hiding Atem's badge from him in the morning so that he couldn't leave for work without one more kiss. He imagined those eyes, before they knew suffering and darkness and death, bright as the summer sun and simmering like diamonds on the water. He envisioned what their life could've been like, if things had only been different.

But Yugi wasn't that person anymore. He would never be that man again. Hell, even Atem wasn't the same person he was a few months ago, before he had met Yugi. Atem knew that the piece of fiction in his head wasn't their story to have, but he would do anything in his power to create a story with Yugi that did not have a grisly, dismal ending.

A love like theirs deserved more than that.

"You know..." Atem finally whispered, breaking the silence. "I've never loved someone quite like I love you."

Atem heard Yugi's heart beat quicken, and the body beneath him tense slightly.

"Oh, Atem..." Yugi said just as quietly. "You are the only thing that keeps me going at all anymore. I only live for you now. No matter what happens to me, promise me you'll never forget that."

Atem raised his head from Yugi's chest to rest it on the pillow and found that softened violet gaze waiting for him. "Oh, you ridiculous boy," he exhaled deeply, so close to Yugi now that his sigh caused Yugi's honey-blond bangs to flutter. "How could I ever forget _you_?"

The words lingered in the air, and Atem watched Yugi as the younger man turned on his side to fully face him now with a touch of wonder in his eyes. Atem remained silent, taking in the mess of emotions that filled the lines of Yugi's face and blended together to twist Yugi's expression into one of ambivalence. He continued to stare, quiet and patient, his gaze shifting to Yugi's hand when the other raised it and brought it to hover over his face. Then, gently and with the smallest traces of hesitation, Yugi's fingertips touched his cheek.

Atem immediately felt his eyes prick with the solemn promise of tears.

It was the first time Yugi had ever initiated contact between them, and Atem found himself utterly taken aback by Yugi's open display of affection. His heart may have even skipped a few beats, and he consciously had to blink back the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes. Yugi, who had been watching his hand as well, looked back at him then, as if asking Atem if it was okay to do this; as if letting Atem know, without words, that he loved him too.

Atem raised his own hand to cover Yugi's and press the boy's palm flat against the side of his face. Atem smiled at him.

Yugi smiled back.

"I'd give anything to stay like this," Atem said, his voice a gentle slur of words.

"You always have your head in the clouds, Atem." Yugi slipped his hand from Atem's own, but continued to smile, small and beautiful, at him. "So much so that you forget to keep your feet on the ground."

It was Atem's turn to reach out to him now, moving his hand forward to card his fingers through Yugi's hair. "Overrated," he replied with a small lift of his shoulder.

"Quiet, Atem. Your level of unreasonableness is loud and absurd enough to give me a headache." Yugi laughed, and it was so genuine and bright; a glimpse of his old self that had Atem an absolute mess of emotions.

"You have no idea. My irrational thinking as of late knows no bounds, it seems," Atem said, still smiling at him and running his fingers through his silky strands. "I completely lose myself in you."

"That's funny," Yugi said, a sparkle in his eyes. "Because I think I'm finding myself again in you."

Nothing compared to these moments.

Nothing compared to how soft and warm Yugi could be with him; a side of Yugi that Atem knew was only _for him_.

Atem felt his eyes close, drawn down by pure content, and he gathered Yugi carefully into his arms. He sighed when Yugi tucked his head under his chin, thoroughly content at the feeling of the other's soft hair brushing against his face. For the first time since he had met Yugi, he didn't want to talk to him anymore. He just wanted to enjoy the peaceful silence in between them; this lull in the chaos; this calm before the storm. 

Atem knew that this might be one of their last shared moments like this, but even with all the doubts and the fear and the uncertainty, Atem felt nothing but waves of tranquility wash over him.

It was almost as if, suddenly, everything was okay.

Even if his entire plan backfired and imploded in a rainfall of flames, it'd be okay. Success or failure, life or death, as long as he could have this moment, as long as he and Yugi were together, then he knew that everything would somehow be okay.


	16. Bonded Pair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic Sexual Intercourse (Male/Male). Read at your own discretion.

Yugi was completely ignoring him, having reached his infamously low frustration tolerance for the day, and Atem had half a mind to snap at him for his inattention.

Then again, Atem had known for quite some time now that Yugi was going to react unfavorably to his plan once he had finally relayed all of the details to the younger man. If Atem was being completely honest, he had actually expected more of an outburst from the other. After all, Yugi rarely internalized his displeasure, his typical reactions usually encompassing a pretty impressive range of curse words, all the while condemning everyone within a five mile radius to hell.

It didn't take long - perhaps only five minutes of tense, thick silence - for Atem to determine that the way in which Yugi had untangled himself from his arms and had crossed the room to silently fume in the corner was much more unsettling.

Atem stayed seated on the edge of the medical bed and released a loud sigh, making sure that Yugi knew just how much he did not appreciate being on the receiving end of his silent treatment. Atem also did not care for the physical distance Yugi had created in between them and found himself struggling to give Yugi his space as the other turned over the information that Atem had imparted to him. It was difficult, near impossible, not to pull Yugi back to him, so that he could find comfort in the soothing smoky darkness that allowed him reprieve from the harsh light and realities of the outside world.

But Atem allowed Yugi his reaction, permitted him the space to think, and took to examining the opposite wall as he waited for Yugi to address him. He didn't want to argue, but he was prepared to defend his position if need be. He would be damned if he allowed Yugi to fulfill his self-declared role as martyr by sacrificing his life without so much as a fight.

Atem caught a small movement from the corner of his eye and glanced over to see Yugi staring at him from over his shoulder. Under the scrutiny of the other's gaze, Atem straightened his spine and locked his eyes with Yugi's, letting him know that he had his full attention. Another few moments passed in silence before Yugi finally turned completely to face him.

"I don't want him involved," Yugi opened with, his stance rigid and shoulders back. "In any of this."

Atem acknowledged the words with a small nod. "I know you don't," he said.

Seemingly not pleased with Atem's response, Yugi crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at his feet. "It's bad enough that I'm dragging you into all this – "

"Yugi, stop," Atem cut in, his voice calm but tight around the edges. "I want to be here. And if he's willing to assist us, then we'd be foolish to turn him away."

Yugi lifted his narrowed gaze from the floor to hone in on Atem. "I don't want to put anyone else at risk," he said.

"Is that not his choice to make?"

Yugi uncrossed his arms to toss his hands in the air. "What do you care about respecting the choices of others? Or is it just my choices that you refuse to take into consideration?"

Atem remained seated, fighting against his body's instant reaction to stand and defend himself. "You're referring to your choice to forfeit your life?" he clarified. "If so, then yes, I openly refuse to accept that."

Yugi's expression hardened two-fold. "That's a bit hypocritical of you, don't you think?" he snapped.

Atem felt his body coil with tension. He could practically feel the fight brewing right beneath the surface, begging to fill the space in between them, and he had to force himself to take a deep breath in order to lose some of the strain in his muscles. He didn't want this. He only had forty-five minutes left before he had to vacate the room, and he'd much rather spend that time curling up next to Yugi than arguing with him. Atem sighed again and brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Be that as it may," he said, his tone holding less rigidity than before, "you already know where I stand on this matter. I will not lose you without a fight, and I will not argue with you on that point any further."

Yugi scoffed, as if terribly unimpressed with the psychologist's words, and raised his arms to cross them defensively over his chest again. Atem opened his mouth to comment, but found himself suddenly speechless as soon as he caught sight of the dressings on Yugi's left arm. The rest of the tension immediately leaving his body, Atem raised a hand from his lap to beckon Yugi over to him.

Yugi registered the gesture with a scowl and stayed firmly in his spot.

"Come here, you stubborn boy."

Yugi glared at him. "No."

" _Yugi_."

"Careful, Atem. Don't think you can order me around just because Yami is at bay for the time being."

Atem just barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I'd almost rather piss him off than get you all riled up." Atem gestured to him again. "Now come here so that we can discuss this like adults."

Yugi had no intention of complying with his request, the way in which he narrowed his gaze at Atem telling him as much. But Atem was more than capable of holding his ground, and he had no qualms in raising his eyebrow at the other as a warning - the message clear.

_If I have to stand from this bed and come get you..._

Yugi huffed indignantly at the look directed his way and, for a moment, he appeared to consider returning the message with one of his own that would no doubt _dare_ the elder to follow through with his threat.

After a few more seconds of stubborn silence, in which Atem began to lean up and hover just slightly above the mattress, Yugi, with as much reluctance as he could manage, shuffled towards him, stopping only when he found himself standing over Atem, the elder's seated position giving Yugi a small height advantage.

Once within arms length again, Atem reached out to fasten his hands around the curve of Yugi's hips and guide him to the open space in between his legs. Looking up and catching Yugi's gaze with his own, Atem lifted one hand to tuck a few loose golden curls behind Yugi's ear with a small smile. Atem noticed the slackening of Yugi's shoulders in response, a physical manifestation of his lowering defenses, and Atem gently ran his fingers over the gauze on his left arm, before stopping his ministrations completely to rest both of his hands back on Yugi's hips.

"Talk to me," Atem prompted. "Let me ease your concerns."

Yugi blew out a frustrated breath, his arms still crossed and hands cupping opposite elbows. "I just…" he began, eyes staying on Atem's. "I don't know... What if he decides not to help us?"

"He will," Atem assured him, his tone absolute.

But still, Yugi tilted his head, always the skeptic. "But what if he decides not to?" he questioned. "Do you have a back up plan?"

The corner of Atem's lips twitched. "This is the back up plan."

The reply earned Atem a few confused blinks. "What was the first plan?" Yugi asked him.

Atem could do little more than lift his shoulders in a loose shrug. "To not get attached to you," he said simply.

"Oh goodie," Yugi muttered with a click of his tongue. "So, what you're telling me is that your plans have worked out splendidly in the past."

Atem hid a smile behind a purse of his lips. "I'll admit that my track record so far is not... ideal."

"You're doing a really good job right now of easing my concerns."

The jab was accompanied by a roll of Yugi's eyes, but Atem did not miss the small tic of his cheek, the hint of a suppressed smile. He almost broke out into a grin at that - would've to, if Yugi hadn't gazed back at him with a distinct fondness softening those blue-violet eyes of his.

A look, reserved solely for him, that had Atem unconditionally endeared to man standing over him.

"You can still walk away from this, you know," Yugi said, arms finally uncrossing and hands coming to rest loosely on the fabric over Atem's biceps. "There's still time."

"Oh, Yugi." The smile Atem presented him with was small, but it was honest. "There's no walking away from this. That door closed long ago. And besides," he said, squeezing Yugi's hips reassuringly, "even if I could walk away, I wouldn't want to. You know I'd follow you anywhere."

"Rather blindly, if I may add."

"As long as I see you," Atem said quietly, "that's all that matters to me."

Yugi wasn't quite sure how to respond to the adoration and sincerity in Atem's voice. Even though he had his moments, he had never been quite as eloquent as Atem; had never been able to express himself verbally in such an authentic manner, especially in regards to his 'feelings'.

But Atem's baritone voice was so soothing to his ears; his touch gentle and non-threatening; those red rose eyes always forgiving and forever understanding. In the silence that drifted past them like an autumn breeze with nothing but the sound of their breathing, Yugi found himself no longer wanting to talk, but wanting to _feel_ Atem.

_Oh..._

How damningly simple it would be for him to tempt Atem, he thought to himself briefly. How easy it would be to coax the elder into submitting to his desires, this man who loved him so.

The same man who Yugi undeniably loved in return, despite his inability thus far to say those exact words to him.

Without another thought on the matter, Yugi reached forward, his hands finding purchase in Atem's shirt collar and, with a hard tug of the fabric scrunched in between his fingers, Yugi pulled the elder to him, close enough that his breath blew across Atem's cheeks as he spoke. "Kiss me," Yugi ordered softly, his eyes glimmering like dark water under moonlight. "I want to know what it's like…. to be kissed by someone who loves me. I don't want to die without knowing what that feels like."

The unexpected movement, or more so the words that had accompanied the movement, took Atem by complete surprise. Though it was true that he had never given Yugi a proper kiss before, he hadn't expected that Yugi, a man who, up till today, barely ever sought out physical closeness (who had faced dire consequences for years by being close to anyone _at all_ ), would put forth such a request.

As many times as Atem had come close, as many times as he had _wanted_ to kiss the man in his arms, he had always been conscious of the possible backlash in doing so due to Yugi's likely skewed view of physical intimacy in light of Yami's forced, twisted affections. Especially since, until recently, all of the emotions that would've surfaced if they had shared a kiss would have led to Yami's inevitable arrival.

But now...

With Yami temporarily subdued and Yugi asking him...

Demanding him really...

And then there was that look Yugi was giving him, those eyes of liquid lilacs glittering in a way that made his very core shudder on inhale and a surge of warmth spread throughout his entire body. He hadn't even registered that he was moving forward, closing the tiny distance in between them, until it was far too late; until he was leaning up in the bed just enough to press his lips against Yugi's - a soft pressure that was ghost-like and feather textured.

The kiss in itself was not explosive, but rather intoxicating. It weighed down on Atem's bones; made him feel like he was being pulled into an undercurrent so strong that he knew he could never escape it. For a brief second that seemed to stretch on for eternities and eons, Atem experienced a sensation that he could only compare to that of drowning, and he found in that moment that it did not matter to him in the least whether Yugi was his lifejacket or his anchor.

The sound of their lips parting made Atem's heart quiver, and when he leaned back just enough to gaze up and meet Yugi's eyes, he noted that they were so cloudy that he couldn't decipher a single emotion within their depths clearly. His own breath, Atem noticed, was shaking, coated with nerves and fear and anticipation that he could not quite control as he stared up at Yugi, and Yugi stared back down at him.

Something in the air shifted, and then suddenly (and amazingly and awfully and wonderfully and stupidly) Yugi was rushing forward again, his lips finding Atem's in a way that reminded Atem not of water, but of _fire_.

It was with a burning intensity that Yugi's lips moved against his now, and Atem was already half way towards surrendering to the hellfire inside of him when he wound his arms around Yugi's waist and held him tight - protectively in his embrace. He savored the feel of Yugi's hands curled in his hair, keeping him closer still, and only then did he notice that Yugi was pushing his lips harder into the kiss with an urgency that wasn't quite there before. It was almost sudden, the way that it was becoming too hot and too desperate. It almost felt as if Yugi thought that this was going to be the last time they ever...

"Hey," Atem soothed, breaking apart briefly to look up into Yugi's eyes. "I'm here, and I will kiss you a million times before you die, Yugi. I promise you. Our story does not end here."

But Yugi did not want words - that was clear when he moved forward and caught Atem's lips again, pressing flush against him in a way that brushed right in between Atem's legs. It was a dangerous chain reaction that would prove lethal, as Atem bit Yugi's bottom lip to stifle a groan, causing the boy's breath to hitch in response to the sudden bite, and the airy noise sending a bolt of desire right to Atem's groin. Yugi seemed to like the reaction his movements stirred in Atem, for suddenly Yugi was pushing against him again, causing Atem's inner thighs to _burn_ with the friction.

"Yugi, we should stop - "

"No."

"But - "

"Don't push me away, Atem. Please don't push me away. Not you. Never you."

Yugi's murmured pleas were the prettiest combination of syllables Atem could ever hope to hear. It was like the simplest form of music to his ears - a pluck of a violin string, a strum of a harp - and it was those gentle tones that resonated with something so deep inside of him that Atem was rendered almost immediately powerless.

"I need this. I need you."

A siren's song - words that sung out to the parts of Atem's soul that desired so endlessly for Yugi that hearing them instantly lulled him into a state of utter compliance.

And then Yugi was pressed against him again, sliding that lithe little body in between his legs, grinding against his hardening arousal.

"Take the darkness away." Yugi whispered the words against Atem's parted lips. "I want memories of you - not him. Please."

Atem did not have the strength to resist, had barely the strength to move when Yugi captured his upper lip between his own and sucked softly. His heart stammering in his chest and his desire growing in between his legs sent blood rushing to every part of him - except his brain evidently.

Yugi pulled back suddenly from him and, before Atem could even try to draw him back, Yugi was raising his hands to undo the top button of his grey jumpsuit.

"Please, Atem."

"Yugi, I... "

Atem broke eye contact only so that he could watch those nimble fingers play at the buttons of the prison jumpsuit. In the very back of his mind, he registered the remnants of some of Yugi's sociopathic characteristics and, though the psychologist was no longer convinced that Yugi's true self met the criteria for sociopathy, Atem would be a fool to believe that Yugi was not still, at his core, irreparably damaged.

In order to survive, Yugi had numbed himself, had detached himself from the tender traces of compassion, and Atem knew that those were wounds that would not heal without many scars. Even this very second, regardless of how genuine his words were, Yugi was very well manipulating every single moment of this interaction - every move was intentional, every flutter of his eyes purposeful, every husky whisper deliberate.

"Show me how to love again," Yugi coaxed him in a lullaby voice, unhooking another button of his jumpsuit, as Atem felt his eyes slide close on their own accord.

There was no doubt in Atem's mind that, even if Yami's spirit perished and burned in the fires of hell, Yugi would always be this way. He'd always be rough around the edges. He'd always be prone to outbursts, easily provoked, distant and unpredictable at times, and perhaps even violent when the situation called for it. But it was all white noise to Atem, for he also knew that Yugi was capable of softness, of love, of feeling pain so deeply and so brokenly and so absolute that he could still cry tears.

Atem reopened his eyes just in time to see Yugi's jumpsuit falling off his pale, creamy shoulders, past his arms and over the bandages. Hands still clasped onto Yugi's waist, Atem felt the fabric pool over his fingers, and he realized then that all he had to do was release his hold for the jumpsuit to fall the rest of the way down. Atem shuddered at the thought and, hands tightening around the bony hips, Atem pulled Yugi back to him so that he could lean forward and press his lips against the other's collarbone. Yugi's skin was smooth like blades of grass, and when Atem began to trail butterfly kisses up Yugi's neck, the younger released the most beautiful of sighs.

Lungs tight and breath faltering, Atem pulled back to find half-lidded, stormy purple eyes waiting for him.

He hesitated.

Then, he let go of Yugi's waist and watched as the jumpsuit fell to the floor to pool at Yugi's ankles.

His resistance shattered after that - Yugi's naked, milky body on display, the boy staring at him with fox eyes through the thickest lashes he'd ever seen. A man of many flaws, Atem's eyes were fixated on Yugi, who was everything in his world, and who was offering himself to Atem in the most human, natural way.

Atem never stood a chance.

And as his legs began to quake with the pulses of heat filling him, he could've sworn he saw a hint of a smirk playing on Yugi's lips.

It mattered not though, because just as quickly as Yugi had presented himself, Atem's hands were back on Yugi's bare waist, yanking him onto his lap. Yugi was already pulling at his belt and the zipper of his slacks by the time Atem had found Yugi's lips again, his tongue plunging into that delicious mouth and tasting those pretty moans. It wasn't long before those _sinful_ little hands found his impossibly hard erection, and the feel of Yugi's fingertips sliding along his shaft sent a burst of fire flooding through his every vein.

"Oh Christ..." Atem unlaced weakly.

"Atem," Yugi purred against his lips, untucking Atem from the confines of his pants and using the soft skin of his palm to caress his swollen length. "My Atem."

"Yes, yours..." Atem groaned. 

Knees sinking into the mattress and braced on each side of Atem's hips, Yugi leaned against the fully clothed psychologist, his tongue caressing the inside of Atem's mouth, as his hand moved in steady strokes over Atem's _aching_ arousal. Atem suppressed a growl of protest when Yugi abruptly pulled his lips away from him, but only because Yugi had immediately secured one of his hands in his and had raised it to those pretty pink lips to suck ever so skillfully on two of his fingers.

Lust-filled, darkened amethyst eyes catching his, Atem's mind flooded with filthy images as Yugi continued to twirl his tongue around his digits. Atem could practically feel those swollen plush lips enclosed around his dick, that expert tongue sliding up and down his shaft, guiding him down to the tip of that tight little throat and... _oh,_ _fucking God_.

Atem withdrew his fingers from Yugi's mouth, deciding that patience and control and discipline were no longer words that had any meaning to him, and also deciding that he wanted to be _inside_ of Yugi.

Eyes still locked onto Yugi's own, Atem circled his arm around Yugi's waist and lowered his hand down to the curve of his backside. Yugi's airy pants were making his cock throb almost painfully, and he did not hesitate when he pressed a wet digit against the puckered skin between Yugi's cheeks, his finger sliding inside of Yugi and -

_"Oh...!"_

Yugi practically folded in on himself then, every muscle going rigid as his body tried to fight against the intrusion in spite of the discord of pleas and moans that tumbled like a pretty waterfall from Yugi's mouth. Atem tightened the arm still draped around Yugi's waist and brought the man even closer to him as he slid his finger _in_ and _out_ and then back _inside_ of that body that curled and begged and writhed under his ministrations.

And as he slipped another damp digit inside of Yugi, he let out a groan himself, cursing aloud when Yugi clenched the muscles around his fingers in a tight squeeze.

_This - Yugi - him - them - like this..._

It was all so overwhelming, and suddenly he felt as if he was drowning again, sinking fast, and _good, fuck it,_ he didn't care about drowning anymore, he decided, because he _wanted_ to submerge himself in Yugi. 

He craved it; he needed _more_ of the aphrodisiac that Yugi embodied.

Yugi's hair was like downy as Atem pushed his fingers through the multi-colored locks and tugged Yugi's head back, silently demanding to see those eyes again.

"I want you," Atem declared, the baritone of his voice deep and guttural. " _Now_."

" _Yes_. Please."

The pupils of his eyes were dilated, he was sure, as he withdrew his fingers from inside of Yugi and used his now freed hand to wrap it around his erection instead. Guiding it to its intended destination, Atem pressed his cock in between the curves of Yugi's backside, its beaded tip brushing against Yugi's entrance. The sound of Yugi's breath catching in his throat, the sight of those violet eyes closing tight, and the feel of that ring of muscles clenching hard around his arousal as the boy lowered down onto his erection had Atem's eyes rolling up towards the ceiling in unfiltered euphoria.

"Oh  _God_..."

Yugi took in sharp breaths and let out delicious little moans, as he slid the rest of the way down onto Atem's lap, and when those eyes fluttered back open to stare at him, Atem almost came right then.

To be inside of Yugi was like having that dark fire engulf him, suffocate him, and give him a pleasure so forbidden that it brought Atem to a place where he would willingly sell his soul to stay forever in between these slick thighs. Oh, what he wouldn't give to be able to always be with Yugi like this; to partake in this dark being and revel in the shadows that touched every desire in his soul; that soothed and consoled him.

Atem wanted more of it - he wanted _all_ of it - and when Yugi began to inch up slowly off his lap, Atem propelled his hips upwards, determined to take all that Yugi was willing to give.

"Ahh! Atem, _oh yes_ , just like that." Yugi shuddered, and Atem _sunk_ into him again. "Oh, God, _perfect_..."

The silky material of his shirt and tight fabric of his slacks was trapping the heat his body was producing, and thus the clothes felt like flames against his skin. Yet, Atem couldn't find it in himself to pause for even a moment to remove them. The seconds he would need to do so would take seconds away from being close and inside of the younger man, and Atem had no intention of allowing such a time lapse to exist when he could spend it instead making love to his sweet, manipulative little Yugi.

" _Fuck_." Atem hissed, as he guided Yugi up on his knees by his grasp on the boy's hips, his pulsing arousal dragging against the muscles that constricted and molded around him. "Oh God." Atem groaned, bringing Yugi down hard again, as his mouth found the underside of Yugi's jaw. He trailed the flesh over the bone with hot open-mouth kisses and continued to unsheathe himself inside of Yugi - pushing, thrusting, taking, needing, wanting.

Then, he pulled away from Yugi's neck to peer up at the man in his lap.

And that's when it happened.

Looking back, Atem supposed that it was the sight of Yugi, his very heart and soul right there in his arms, with his gentle heart-shaped face flushed a sunset pink and skin wrapped in a light sheen of sweat that sent the dark tendrils inside of him ripping through him, tearing at him, with the intention of exposing his every vulnerability. It was a consuming _awful_ sensation that, in the moment, left him suddenly feeling weak and fragmented.

It was only when Yugi cupped his face in his hands that Atem realized that his eyes were burning - absolutely on _fire_ \- with tears.

"Tell me, Atem," Yugi whispered against his lips, as he continued the motions of raising up onto his knees and then _sinking_ back down to bury Atem inside of him once more. "Tell me what I am to you."

"Oh...," Atem exhaled shakily, one hand coming to rest on the small of Yugi's back, as the other reached up to cover one of Yugi's own hands and intertwine their fingers. Laced together like that, he was able to guide Yugi's hand down from the side of his face to rest it right over the center of his chest. "You are my heart," Atem said, never breaking eye contact with Yugi as he untangled his hand from his. 

Yugi moaned softly and pressed his hand harder against the firm chest, the beat of Atem's heart pulsing under his palm. "Does it hurt?" he asked breathlessly.

Atem tightened his arms around Yugi's waist, pushing the man flush against him and leaning up to brush his lips against Yugi's. "Loving you is the greatest agony I have ever known," he replied quietly.

Yugi all but cooed in response, sliding his hand up Atem's chest, over his neck, all so that he could hold Atem's face again. He purred at the feel of the elder's bangs swaying against his fingertips. "Would you choose me again?"

"I would," Atem whispered. "Every single time. In this life and the next."

Yugi hummed blissfully at that and, Atem's face still in his hands, he leaned forward to press his lips full against Atem's, relishing in the warmth of his skin and in the heat of his undying affection. The psychologist eagerly responded, Yugi's teeth like little nips of razor blades on his lips, and that wet tongue sliding in and out of his mouth in ways that made his insides melt. Atem swallowed all that Yugi poured into him, allowing Yugi's darkness to infuse in his veins and pull the pieces of Atem back together, making him feel invincible and strong and powerful once more.

A growl rubbled from somewhere deep inside of Atem, as a fiery lava heated his skin, sending every one of his nerves ablaze like a live spark. That body, slender and supple, was melding against his, and Atem could feel the hot cum pulsing at the tip of his cock as he slid inside of Yugi, lubricating those firm muscles around him. Sweaty limbs encasing each other, Atem never allowed Yugi to leave his lap, keeping the younger man firmly planted as he moved the boy against him, back and forth over his arousal, accentuating his fullness with every push and pull of those hips. Always angled against that heavenly spot inside of Yugi, he never permitted Yugi a moment of relief. Even as Yugi's body tried to arch away, utterly overwhelmed with pleasure, Atem did not relent. Atem's hold actually steeled itself when that sweet body began convulsing so intensely that he could feel Yugi trembling in his arms.

And _oh..._ Yugi was just a climax-inducing symphony of mewls and moans and cries that was too much to bear.

And as they rocked against each other, hopelessly lost in their own world that was made only for the two of them, Atem knew with every frayed fiber of his being that he simply could not exist without Yugi. It was an impossibility made clear by the way their bodies molded together as if they were meant all this time to fit like this. Every crevice and edge met with it's complimenting dip and curve, like a puzzle, finally completing itself. They mimicked the other's every step - every push and press against skin met halfway. Wherever one of them went, the other followed, never allowing an inch of space in between them as they slid fluidly against each other; sweat soaked skin to silky fabric, shallow breath to airy inhale, forever touching, eternally in sync - perfect, flawless, and never apart.

Like a shadow and a dancer.

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Allowing the running water to pool in his cupped hands, Atem ducked his head closer to the sink and splashed the cool liquid over his face. Beads of water spiraled down his cheeks in small rivets, as he tilted his head back to gaze at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was tousled and knotted, his blond bangs twisting back into his long styled mop of black strands that always reminded him of Yugi's own hair.

At the thought, Atem's eyes wandered to the corner of his reflection, over his shoulder, to stare through the mirror at Yugi, who was resting contently on the medical bed behind him. Atem had attempted to clean off his slacks the best he could to rid the material of the evidence of their activities, and he had also hoped that a few splashes of cold water would've helped him to regain his frazzled senses.

Both endeavors had proved only half successful.

Wiping the remaining droplets of water from his face, Atem turned around and took a step forward to stand out in the threshold of the infirmary bathroom. With a small sigh, he shifted his weight to prop his shoulder against the doorframe and then watched with soft eyes as Yugi curled further into the pillow by his head, the lids of the other's eyes drooping and weighed down with the desire for sleep. Atem tried to fight back the small smile that threatened to cut into his cheek at the single curl of blond hair that had taken up residence right in the center of Yugi's forehead, dancing ever so slightly with Yugi's evening breaths.

That endeavor also appeared to be a losing battle.

"You really think this is going to work?"

Atem's ears perked at the question directed at him. He waited a second, then pushed off the door and crossed the small space between them to settle on the corner of Yugi's bed. The sudden dent in the mattress caused Yugi to crack one eye open and stare at him.

"I do," Atem told him, then leaned down and pressed his lips against Yugi's forehead, the honey curl of hair folding under the slight pressure.

Yugi sighed, and it somehow sounded both content and defeated at the same time. "Oh Atem, my fool," he said, closing both eyes completely again. "You love so recklessly."

"You say that as if it's even possible to love you cautiously," Atem said, sitting back up in the bed. With an apologetic purse of his lips, he nudged Yugi's arm and, acknowledging Atem's silent request, Yugi straightened his body out on the medical bed so that Atem could fasten his restraints - however reluctantly the elder completed the task.

Once finished, Atem brought the sheets up from the very edge of the bed and tucked them around Yugi with a saddened glint in his eyes. "I should go," Atem said, his words quiet. "The guards will be back shortly. Ten minutes, tops." His gaze drifted away from the man secured to the bed. "I have a few more things left to take care of, but... I'll be back soon. With the puzzle this time."

He didn't have to see Yugi to know that the younger had opened his eyes again and was watching him. "I don't..." He heard Yugi begin to say. "I wish..."

"I know, Yugi..."

Atem felt the mattress underneath him shift a little. "Your plan is thorough." Yugi relented a bit. "But you forget, Atem - Yami has shadow magic on his side."

"He's a psychopath, Yugi." Atem turned his eyes back to him. "That's all I need to know."

Yugi released a small exhale at that. "Okay then." He gave a nod and glanced away at the wall beside his bed. "I hope you prepare yourself," he said.

Atem took a hold of one of Yugi's hands, the wrist of which was fastened to the bed railing, and gave Yugi's palm a small squeeze. "For battle," he said.

Yugi snapped his eyes back to him to cast him a look from underneath his bangs. "For war," Yugi corrected.

Atem could only nod in response, his attention shifting to the burst of anxiety that seemed to explode in his chest at the grave severity of Yugi's tone. Giving the hand in his grasp one last tight squeeze, Atem forced himself to his feet and began the long and lonely trek across the infirmary towards the exit. His steps faltered though, surprise evident in Atem's movements, when the younger man suddenly called out to him.

"There's one more thing, Atem."

Atem paused in his retreat and turned halfway to catch Yugi's eyes. "Yes?"

There was hesitation in the way that Yugi bit his bottom lip. "There's something I need you to do for me, and I know it's not fair for me to ask, but... if this all works out, then I owe it to someone from my past." Yugi tilted his head, a slight flush of pink still staining his cheeks as a reminder of what had just transpired between them. "I need you to promise me that you'll say okay..."

Yugi was not going to tell him what it was he was agreeing to before Atem was expected to say yes - that was clear by the thin press of Yugi's lips and the storm clouds in his eyes.

Atem stayed silent for a moment.

Then, he nodded.

"Okay," Atem said, because he would always say okay to Yugi. "Just tell me what you need."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

"Dr. Sennen."

Two days later, Atem found himself glancing up just as the inventory guard was approaching the counter with a sealed brown box nestled under his left arm. Placing the package on the counter that separated them, the guard passed a clipboard over to Atem and gestured to the sheet of paper attached. "I found the evidence you requested. You just gotta initial here, and then sign and date at the bottom."

Atem nodded and, slipping the pen out from behind his ear, signed the 'Chain of Custody' document. He passed the clipboard back to the guard. "Thank you," he said.

"All in a day's work." The guard slid the box across the counter, closer to Atem. "So, you investigatin' the Motou case, huh?" he asked him, arching a curious eyebrow.

Atem reached out and brought the box into his hands, securing it in his grasp. "Yes, I am."

"Shit, man." The guard shook his head, a frown marring his lips. "What a fuckin' psycho. What did the papers call him again? The King of..."

"Games." Atem finished, his posture noticeably more rigid than before.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Because Domino's the gaming capital of the U.S.. Ha, the city's like a mini-Japan." The guard then shook his head again, his excitement fading back into a brand of morbid awe. "Then that asshole just showed up one day and started takin' names. Glad his reign of terror is finally over." He gave Atem a pointed look. "I don't know how you work with sick people like that, dude."

Atem forced a small smile onto his face. "Someone has to do it, right?"

The guard snickered at that. "Yeah, I suppose. Hey, I heard his execution date got moved up. Is that true?"

Atem held the smile, only because it hid the tight clench of his teeth. "It is."

"Thank God." The guard sighed in relief. "The world will be a better place without that heartless bastard in it."

"Yes, well," Atem gestured to the package in his hands. "Thank you again."

Atem only partly heard the guard's response, as he exited the evidence locker room. Once in the hallway, he breathed in deeply through his nose, his face losing some of its tightness. It must have been from muscle memory alone that he walked through the FBI headquarters with the brown package in his hands, because suddenly he was outside in the employee parking lot with no recollection of how he got there.

He oriented himself as quickly as he could and started towards the direction of his car. He didn't have time to waste. Malik would catch on to his official 'rogue' status soon, though Atem knew it wouldn't matter by then. A laugh void of humor fell from his lips.

Hell, he was giving career suicide a whole new meaning, wasn't he?

Hearing a bellowed ' _Hello!_ ' from nearby, Atem glanced over to the booth near the gate entrance and then waved at Ryuji Otogi, the black-haired guard who manned the lot and the designated keeper of the keys to the sleek, new line of Federal cruisers the department had recently purchased from funding.

Atem pushed the trace inklings of guilt away when Ryuji waved back at him. It was an emotion he could stomach no more of. He simply did not have any more space for it.

When Atem arrived at his car, he opened his passenger door and settled the package, which had been growing heavier and heavier in his grasp, onto the seat cushion. He slammed the door shut and circled the front of the car, before popping into the driver's seat.

His house had never been far from the headquarters. A twenty-five minute drive north on a good day.

The drive had always done him good, too. It had been his private space where he could clear his head after a long day at work (especially when Yugi was involved) and enjoy the luscious scenery around him. But this particular drive was unlike his others. It was colder; the air in the car thicker.

He glanced at the sealed package on the seat next to him.

He could sense the darkness _seeping_ out of it; he could practically feel it against his skin. If he had a slither of doubt left as to whether this was real or simply all in his head, being in the puzzle's presence annihilated any further back and forth on the matter. There was something evil and supernatural at play here. It was foreboding and threatening, but somehow still able to draw him in.

But this did not feel like Yugi's silky darkness that embraced him so.

No.

This dark was unholy; wicked and cruel.

When Atem got home, he almost thought it better to leave the puzzle packaged and hidden from his eyes, but even as he thought this, he still cut through the evidence seal with a sharp knife and opened the flaps of the box, cardboard brushing against cardboard at the movements.

There it was. 

The Millennium Puzzle.

It was cold to the touch and heavy with the weight of its significance, Atem assessed as he cupped it in his hands.

It sent shivers up his arms, the ghost sensations of shadows brushing past his skin.

Atem held it to his chest and suddenly felt a wave of hatred and anger wash over him.

He wanted to _destroy_ it.

He wanted to smash it against a wall, this puzzle, the cause of Yugi's suffering and sorrow and misery. He wanted to somehow break it into pieces, the artifact in his grasp; the one that darkened what was once such a radiant soul of light.

He gripped the puzzle tighter in his hands.

It was the reason for Yugi's anguish, he knew.

But it was also the one thing that could set Yugi free.

Atem released a heavy sigh, and he felt his body deflate with the loss of it. With a few steps towards the hallway closet, Atem swung open the door with his one free hand, the other one still clutching onto the puzzle. A black safe greeted him on the other side, and Atem pressed in the code, listening as the safe binged happily in response, a green light blinking to alert him to his success.

Atem pulled open the small door to the safe. His eyes instantly caught the gleam of the black revolver inside.

He glanced down at the puzzle in his hands.

Then he placed it inside the compartment, next to his gun, and closed the safe shut with an audible click.

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Atem stared at the brown wooden door before him, the request Yugi had placed upon him four days ago still weighing on his mind.

He wondered if perhaps the reason he was so thrown off balance by what Yugi had asked of him was because he didn't feel as conflicted and resistant as he should've (as any normal, rational human being would've).

In fact, when Yugi had told him what he wanted from him (with the abridged background and reasoning for it), Atem had simply listened in silence and, when Yugi was done, it was almost with no hesitation that Atem had nodded and had said that he understood - a reaction that seemed to surprise even Yugi.

Then they, in a short span of five minutes, incorporated Yugi's addendum into the plan; his modification, if you will.

But now that Atem had had some time to mull it over... Should he have felt more? Should he have said no? 

It occurred to him for a moment that the ever-pervading darkness that he had felt within him - the darkness that he had attained from both Yami _and_ Yugi - was affecting his judgment more than he previously thought.

Atem kicked a small pebble on the ground with the tip of his shoe with a bit more force than necessary and sighed. He didn't have time to think of this, so he attempted to push it from his mind. He needed to focus, after all. He could not be burdened with doubts and concerns, not when he was so close, not when nearly all the pieces were in place.

He had one last thing to do and, while it wasn't relevant in regards to the part of the plan that revolved around Yami, it was certainly crucial to the aftermath of it all. And though it wasn't necessary per say to have this particular pawn play a part in their little game, it would certainly make everything go much smoother and increase his and Yugi's likelihood of success.

Atem was snapped out of his musings by the sound of the wooden door unlocking, his heartbeat picking up pace at the unexpected noise. He hadn't knocked yet. He had been standing out here for almost thirty minutes, and he still had yet to knock. He had just been waiting out on the porch - thinking, wondering, doubting, worrying, delaying...

But now the door was opening, and Atem felt all previous thoughts leave him, as he met an equally surprised set of amber eyes.

"Good evening, Jou," he greeted warmly in the autumn chill that surrounded them. "I hope I am not interrupting anything."

Jou hesitated, his body visibly stiffening, as the initial surprise seeped out of him and a feeling akin to desperation took its place. "Well, I have a flight to catch in a few hours..." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Is there something you need?"

 _'Is there something wrong?_ ' is the question Jou really wanted to ask, Atem knew.

The psychologist exhaled a loud breath that did nothing for Jou's nerves and everything for his wild imagination. "Can we talk?" Atem asked him.

The blonde didn't respond right away. Instead, he lowered his gaze down to the ground by his feet. "Is Yugi okay?" Jou asked gently, a silent prayer coating those three small words.

Atem stayed silent and, in lieu of answering, gestured inside of the house behind them with his head.

For a moment, it looked as if Jou was not going to relent. He wanted an answer, a simple yes or no, but Atem knew that he didn't have any simple answers left to give him.

It might have been a full minute - a sixty second countdown with little unheard clicks of a clock - before Jou surrendered and moved aside to grant Atem access into his house.

 _Okay_ , Atem remembered thinking as he stepped into the foyer, the door shutting close behind him. _Here goes nothing - or perhaps everything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are all caught up my AO3 peeps - meaning all finished chapters of this story have been posted. 
> 
> Chapter 17 is in progress, but not yet completed. I am hoping to post it soon, but that term is relative so... I will get it up as soon as I can! Thanks everyone for the support thus far!!! It is so appreciated! 
> 
> Stay tuned for the next part of S&AD!


	17. King of Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have arrived at the long-awaited 17th chapter. It was supposed to be released two months ago, but I got caught up in RL, and never got around to posting it. For that, I apologize sincerely!
> 
> As for the chapter, it is brand new - never before posted on any site. As such, the remaining three chapters will be new as well. I am working on them and will have them posted hopefully in the next few weeks/months. This story is absolutely not abandoned. 
> 
> Of note, I will not be placing individual warnings on each chapter from here on out, because I don't want to give too much away prematurely. That being said, the warnings below are applicable to *all* remaining chapters. I cannot stress this enough - ALL remaining chapters are important. For further updates on this story, sneak previews, and new releases, follow me on tumblr at hikariandyamiblog.
> 
> Warnings: Major Character Deaths, Graphic Violence, Sexual Assault. Read from this point forward with your own discretion

It was raining today. 

Not quite a downpour, nor was it a drizzle.

It was just rain - in its truest form - and it made Atem wonder, for just a moment, why the skies were crying today.   

He watched the drops of tears - no, of rainwater - fall against his driver's side window and trickle down the glass in imperfect swivels. Sitting alone in his car in the parking lot, he found himself actually able to clear his head and find solace in the rainfall, despite the foreboding presence of evil creeping through the edges of his briefcase in the backseat.

The high winds resonated against the frame of his car, and Atem nearly found himself humming along with the small vibrations, as he bit into a fresh peach he had brought along for the ride. As he chewed, he watched each gust of wind send a flurry of hard rain against his windshield. The sound echoed in the silence of the car, and he thought for a moment that some music would be good. 

But Atem then decided that he didn't need music. He didn't need soft melodies and piano keys to fill his head space. He needed instead the brief nanoseconds of silence in between the sounds of the rain and wind. He needed it so that he could think.

And so, as Atem took another bite of his peach, he listened for those quiet moments with closed eyes and steady breaths. He listened and wondered. 

There was a lot to think about, and yet not so much. 

He thought only briefly about his parents, who had died long ago, and wondered if they were still stuck in the ground where he had buried them or if they had found their way to some sort of afterlife. He hoped for the latter. 

He thought about his acquaintances and neighbors, who he never really got to know because he was too busy sitting in small consult rooms with murderers and taking notes of their crimes.

He thought about being alone; about those nights he had spent in his study at home, wondering if he would ever find someone to share his life with, who could be a source of light for him, in spite of the dark nature of his work.

He thought about Malik, and the department - his home away from home. He thought about his lunch breaks in Malik's office and thick binders and comprehensive assessments and snarky remarks and those god-awful red-cushioned chairs. 

He thought about Yugi. 

He thought _a lot_ about Yugi. 

He thought about the first time he had met him. He thought about the sound of his laugh and crystal-like quality of his voice. He thought about the violet of his eyes and the darkness of his soul; about the light in his heart and the quirk of his smile, which always resembled more of a smirk. He thought about the paleness of his skin in contrast to his own darkened pigment, and how it looked like the moon blessing desert sand when they touched. 

He thought about the first time he held Yugi in his arms, and the first time he kissed him.

And, with one final bite of his fruit, he thought about whether this would be the last time he kissed him. 

Atem took a deep breath and opened his eyes to peer outside the windshield at the prison walls. 

Then, he leaned forward and turned off the car engine. 

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

The success of the first part of his plan relied heavily on the incompetency of the entry guard, and the blissful ignorance that handcuffed itself to the preconceived notion that Atem was ' _one of the good guys_.' 

"Sign-in here," the guard at the entrance said with a small accent and a nod of his head. The guard sat behind a reinforced, plexiglass window that had a small slot at the bottom installed to allow for exchanged of identification and paperwork and not much else. 

Atem knew this guard; his name was Valon. He was a younger, newer guard who was smart, yes, but also nervous around superiors and hungry for approval and positive reinforcement. While Valon had spent the last few weeks slowly getting accustomed to his job duties, Atem had spent that time showing Valon a kindness and patience that most others did not extend towards the 'newbies'.

Valon saw Atem as a supportive ally; maybe even as a friend. 

And the crossing of their paths today had not arisen from chance. 

Atem had known Valon was going to be working this shift. He had checked ahead of time.

"Employee ID here, prisoner's name here, and signature here." Valon grinned cheekily at him. "Sorry man, I know I repeat the same thing every time you come in."

"That's okay," Atem assured with a smile, as he signed in with his credentials. "You're just doing your job."

"Yeah, exactly." Valon pressed a buzzer beneath the surface area of the desk, and Atem heard the click of the door opening beside him, which allowed him entry into the next room. Atem stepped through the now accessible doorway and handed off his briefcase to Valon who had stood to greet him. 

"How is your day going so far?" Atem asked him kindly.

"Can't complain," Valon said with a lift a shoulder. "It's been pretty quiet this morning, actually. Especially since Raphael's on monitor duty today, and I don't have to deal with him. He also looked pretty hungover when he came in earlier." He was. Atem had invited him out for drinks after work the previous night, and while Raphael took shots of tequila, Atem took shots of spring water. "Wouldn't be surprised if he's sleeping it off upstairs." No, Atem wouldn't be surprised if the monitors were currently being unsupervised either. 

"Who are you meeting with today?" Valon asked him, as he snapped the hinges of the leather briefcase open. 

"Mr. Tetsu Ushio - an old client of mine," Atem replied. "I have to review some documents with him for his upcoming trial."

"Oh man, Ushio? That guy's a total dick. Y'know, he started a ruckus outside last week and got his yard time suspended."

"I'm sure he'll be in an excellent mood today then."

"Ha, yeah, sure - oh, what's this?" Valon asked only a moment after revealing the contents of Atem's briefcase. His eyes were scanning the length of the puzzle. 

Atem shrugged nonchalant but with a small smile. "Oh, just a family relic from my grandparents. I know it sounds silly, but I carry it with me sometimes to bring me good luck in these sessions."

"Neat," Valon whistled. "That's not real gold, is it?"

"No, but its pretty convincing, huh?"

Valon laughed and ran a finger down the side of the puzzle. "Yeah, it sure - " He suddenly stopped mid-sentence to wrap his arms around himself as his body jerked forward. "Oh man, sorry!" he apologized hurriedly. "I just got a bad case of the chills."  

"There is a bit of a draft in here," Atem said simply. 

Valon verbalized a quick agreement before glancing over the rest of the briefcases contents - some papers, a pen, a notepad. He clicked it close with a nod and handed it back to Atem. "Great, just gotta give ya a quick scan, and you're good to go."

Valon turned to grab the handheld metal detector, and Atem allowed him to begin scanning his person, as the guard had done so many times before. It was always the same pattern; Valon would scan his torso, sides, arms, then he'd ask Atem to turn around, and he would slide the scanner down his back and legs. 

Except this time, when Valon had begun his descent down Atem's thighs, the psychologist lurched forward, towards the trash can, and vomited his stomach contents into the receptacle. 

"Oh Jesus," Valon grimaced. He lowered the scanner back down onto his desk and approached Atem's side. "You alright there, man?"

Atem, breathing heavily and cheeks flushed a light pink, raised his head to face the guard. "Yes, I'm fine. I am so sorry. I must have eaten something today that clearly did not agree with me."

"Do you need me to call the nurse?"

"No, no, that's quite alright." Atem stood back upright and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He ducked his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry - "

"Don't worry about it," Valon said, gesturing towards the phone. "I'll ring the janitor and have him bring it out back. I just want to make sure you're good. Do you need some water or...?"

"That would be great," Atem said. 

Valon turned, ducked under his desk, and pulled out a bottle of water. He passed it to Atem. "I also have some food if you need something in your stomach. I actually packed a decent lunch - ah, let's see, I got half a sandwich left and also some berries and a peach, if any of those options sound appealing."

Atem smiled and waved him off. "No, the water is just fine." Atem assured him. "And besides," he added, "I'm allergic to peaches."

"Ah, well, okay man. If you're sure you're alright." Valon reached down towards another buzzer, and Atem heard the next set of doors clicking open. "Well, you're all set. Consult room 549 is reserved for you - just ask the guard down there to pull Ushio from his cell. Hope you feel better, man."

Atem voiced his thanks and walked through the doorway and into the hall. His footsteps seemed loud despite the softness of his steps, but he continued to walk on because he couldn't turn back now. 

When he came to the split in the hallway, he looked down the adjoining hall to the right - a corridor that led to the consult rooms he'd been in so many times before. Then, he looked to his left, which led to a slew of additional halls that opened up to different sections of the prison.

Atem glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one was watching him. 

Then, he tightened his grip on his briefcase and turned left.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Yugi was already waiting for him in the morgue when he walked through the double doors.

At the sound of the doors opening, the boy had turned to him, those violet eyes brightening like sunrise on water at his arrival.

Atem barely had time to drop his briefcase by the door, before he surged forward to meet Yugi halfway into the room, just as the younger man jumped into his arms. 

" _Atem_ ," Yugi cooed, winding his arms around Atem's neck and bringing their faces close. 

Yugi back in his arms returned long lost air into his lungs, and suddenly his heart was beating within his chest again and the ache that had taken residence within him faded away under the weight of Yugi's presence. Atem inhaled a deep breath and leaned forward to rest his cheek against Yugi's, and then he knew peace. "I've missed you entirely too much," Atem admitted softly. "I don't think you'll ever understand the hold you have over my heart."

The insides of Yugi's knees brushed against Atem's hips as the younger secured his legs around the man's waist. "I have an idea," Yugi murmured to him, and Atem knew that he could live in the gentle echoes of Yugi's whispers forever.

Atem held Yugi impossibly closer to him and wondered if it would be okay if he just never let him go. 

But Atem had to ground himself, had to dig his heels into the very floor he stood upon, for he needed to stay focused. Atem pulled back enough to look at Yugi in his eyes. "Is he...?"

Yugi only nodded in response. 

"Okay." Atem glanced around the space they occupied - a small, bleak room in the basement of the prison (not far from solitary confinement, actually) that was home to a desk, some scattered chairs, plenty of dark corners to hide within, and a wall of individual chambers where refrigerated corpses awaited pick up from loved ones or next of kin. Atem turned his gaze back to Yugi, shifted his bundle of chaos in his arms, and gave him a tiny smile. "Have you been behaving yourself since the last time I saw you?" he asked. 

Yugi snorted and began to play with the dark strands of Atem's hair at the base of his neck. The elder found his eyes closing involuntarily at the gentle contact. "Yeah, yeah," he heard Yugi say. "But, Atem, seriously, that nurse was driving me _crazy_. I came _this_ close to just begging her to send me back to the hole." 

Atem hummed, but didn't respond - too caught up that he was in the sound of Yugi's voice. He savored the airy undertones that washed over him and soothed his conflicted soul.

"Atem."

"Hm?" he managed.

"I'm afraid."

Atem opened his eyes then to look at Yugi, and all he could see was amethyst. "That's normal, Yugi," Atem reassured him. "The thought of possibly dying is supposed to be scary."

Yugi shook his head softly then, and the golden strands of his hair brushed against the sides of his face. "That's not what scares me, Atem," Yugi said to him. "I don't care about dying. I haven't cared about dying in a long time. But the thought of losing you... that terrifies me." Yugi raised one of his hands to gently touch Atem's cheekbone. "You are the light of my life, Atem. Without you, there'll just be darkness."

It was tender, the way the pads of Yuugi's fingertips brushed over his skin. "Yugi," murmured Atem. "I know I've told you time and time again that it'll all be okay... but you're right. This all could go wrong, and I can't promise you that we'll both make it out of this. I wish I could - I would do anything to promise you that everything was going to be okay just like I always do... but I just _can't_  right now. So, I need you to promise me something instead." Atem leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Yugi's. He exhaled deeply, and Yugi's bangs fluttered. "No matter what happens, I need you to promise me that you will never forget me. I need you to promise me that you'll always remember how much I loved you."

Those amethyst eyes were beautiful with the way they glistened with tears that Atem never wanted to see. "Don't make me promise to exist in a world without you," Yugi said, his voice a whisper. "Because I can't make that promise either."

Neither of them had ever been particularly skilled in keeping promises, so instead of pushing the matter any further, Atem kissed Yugi then. He pressed into him so hard as a way to assure him - to assure them both. But instead of ease, the kiss only brought fear into his heart and instilled it into his bones. Because if Atem was light and tides, then Yugi was his gravity, his moon, and his night of stars. He was the darkness that sheltered him; the fire that warmed his heart and gave life to his soul. He was his anguish and despair, ingrained into the very strings of his heart. He was everything and, without him, Atem was nothing. 

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Atem lowered Yugi back down to the floor, but the minimal distance he created with the action sent a live-spark of panic surging through him. He couldn't fathom this being the last time he held Yugi in his arms; the last time he kissed his lips or touched his skin; the last time he surrendered himself to the very essence of another human being. 

So, Atem kneeled on the cold, tiled floor of the morgue, and he held onto Yugi's waist with his hands, because he wasn't ready to let go. "You know," Atem said, "Our very first session was originally supposed to take place a week earlier than it did."

Yugi blinked down at him, confused at first, as he processed Atem's words. Then, recognition lit up his face. "Oh yeah, I remember that. You canceled on me, you asshole."

Atem laughed, and his anxiety eased. "Yeah. Well, I was feeling overwhelmed, to be honest. I decided I needed an extra week to gather my bearings. You were quite the intimidating caseload."

Yugi nodded absently at his words, but his gaze was piercing. "Why are you telling me this now?" he asked him. 

"Because," Atem told him, "if I could go back to that day, I wouldn't have taken that extra week off. Know that I would do anything to be able to go back in time and spend those extra few days with you, Yugi, because from the moment I fell for you, I knew that I'd have to love you as much as I could for as long as I could, because there may have come a day when I couldn't anymore."

"Atem..."

"You don't have to say anything," Atem interrupted gently. "I just wanted you to know that. And I want you to know that what I feel for you... that's something not even Yami can take that away from me. Or from you. "

Yugi closed his eyes, and fresh tears slid down his cheeks. He wiped at them with his hands, furious almost that they had escaped without his permission, and he ducked his head so that his bangs casted a shadow over his eyes. His shoulders tensed then and, to Atem, it looked like holding back these tears was the hardest thing Yugi had ever had to do. 

"How…" Yugi finally said in a voice that made Atem's heart stop, "… _touching_."

Atem immediately fell back and away from the rigid form in front of him. 

Yugi's eyes slid open.

But he wasn't Yugi anymore. 

"Surprised?" Yami asked him, lifting his head to meet Atem's gaze. Blank lavender colored his irises. "Ah, wherever are my manners? You must excuse the interruption, Dr. Sennen. I do sincerely apologize. However, I sensed my puzzle nearby - close enough that I could draw upon its extraordinary dark energy - and unfortunately for you, I just could not wait to hold my beloved again."

Atem was already on his feet before Yami had finished his piece, and he stood tall by his briefcase near the door. "Where's Yugi?" he asked instantly. 

Yami didn't care, and it showed. "He's in his soul room. But that's all irrelevant now."

"It's _not_ ," Atem snapped against his will. In the back of his head, Atem knew that he needed to keep his composure in the face of Yami's insanity, but Yugi was suddenly gone and his heart ached once more. Without Yugi, he felt lost and he simply couldn't risk losing himself in the dead sea of Yami's presence. He took a deep breath then, eyes locked with Yami's, and willed his body to calm.

"Forgive me," Yami said with a smile. "I forgot how much you care for that - "

" _Yugi._ "

Yami's eyes and smile widened. "Yes. Yugi." He took a step closer to Atem. "Now, if you could. My puzzle, Dr. Sennen."

Atem glanced quickly to his briefcase by his feet, then back to Yami. "We have a deal," Atem reminded him. 

Yami nodded. "Indeed," he assented. 

Suddenly and without warning, Atem was back in his car. He was back to thinking about all the things that mattered, and all the things that didn't. He was back in that consult room, sitting across from Yugi for the first time, and thinking that he was the most beautiful being that Atem had ever seen. He was back in the infirmary, with Yugi in his lap and tears in his eyes, as Yugi ripped out his heart and held it in his hands for safe-keeping. He was back to minutes ago - to light and darkness, and tides and flames, and suns and moons.

Then he was here again, standing in front of Yami, whose eyes were wide and hollow and menacing; whose smile ate into his cheeks; and whose aura reeked of murderous desire that practically bled from his soul.

In that moment, Atem wanted to _kill_  him.

He wanted to watch the blood spill from his body. 

He was filled with a hate for Yami that made him irrational and vengeful, but a love for Yugi that soothed his rage and made him see things clearly once more. 

With a deep breath, Atem leaned down, eyes always on Yami, and took his briefcase in his hand. With a click of the hinges and a small motion, Atem removed the puzzle from the leather trappings with one hand. 

He noticed Yami's entire demeanor change once the spirit had set his eyes upon the puzzle - his posture stiffened, his eyes darkened, and his fingers twitched, even as Yami held open his hand towards him.

"Give it to me, Dr. Sennen."

Atem noticed the puzzle growing hot against his palms, but ignored the almost painful heat. "We have a deal," Atem said once more. 

"We do," Yami said simply, his arm still outstretched.

Atem paused. He thought. He second-guessed himself. He even considered praying. 

But he didn't. 

Instead, Atem tossed the puzzle over to Yami. 

The spirit caught it with grace and, almost instantly, a wicked smile split across his cheeks, severing his face in half. His eyes grew wild and when he looked up at Atem, his irises were filled with a blackness – not a trace of lavender to be seen.

"It says something about you, Dr. Sennen," Yami said in a voice that echoed a million times over in the hollowness of his soul, "that you would fall in love with someone so… _weak_."

"Yugi is stronger than you will ever be," Atem said without hesitation.

"He is _human,_ " Yami spat, as the air around him appeared to take on a darkish hue. "And you all have such delicate bodies. He will bleed the same as you."

"You gave me your _word_."

Yami looked at Atem then, into the very depths of his soul, and filled what he found there with crippling fear. "Words, like the bones in your body, can be easily broken," he said.  

But fear only propelled Atem forward and, in one swift motion, he fell to his knee, withdrew his gun from his ankle holster, and stood to aim the revolver directly at Yami's head. "I won't let you kill me, and I won't leave here without Yugi. Just separate from him and leave us be. We can all walk away from this!"

Yami's laughter _boomed_.

"Oh, you insolent, pathetic little man! Don't you see? You sealed your fates the moment you chose to return my puzzle to me. Yugi is already dead. And so are you," Yami said with a cheshire smile and wild black eyes. "Would you like to say goodbye to your precious child before I kill you? It's the least I can do."

Atem didn't know how it happened.

One moment, Yami was standing there, as still as the devil himself as his skin took on a sudden black hue, and in the next moment, Yami had whipped his arm out to his side, and Yugi's form had ripped from him so forcefully that Yami's own figure should've been pouring blood from the seams.

But he wasn't, and Atem didn't have time to process what was happening as Yugi went crashing into the wall beside them.

Atem fumbled only once, not used to seeing the two of them at once, before the adrenaline pumping through his every vein had him running over to Yugi's unconscious body on the cold floor of the morgue. He sank to his knees and used the hand not gripping his gun to pull Yugi's head onto his lap. He only then noticed the blood pouring from the back of Yugi's head.

"Yugi," whispered Atem, as he cradled the boy's head. "Come back to me. _Please_." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Yugi's forehead, over the golden bangs tinged with red. "I can't do this without you," he murmured to him. 

"Ah... the happy couple. Together at last," Yami interjected with a tilt of his head and a crack of his jaw. Little strands of smoky shadows twisted around the puzzle and caressed Yami's hands, spinning like little ribbons around his fingers. Yami hummed at the dark spirals and watched as they spun joyfully over the center of his palm. He glanced back to Atem and grinned. "I am finally free, and with you to thank. Oh... I have been waiting for this moment for _far too long,_ " Yami said to him. "Dr. Sennen... let's play a game."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

When Yugi came to, it was to Atem's bloodied, beaten body hanging from the wall across the room.

Thick, black tendrils hugged Atem's frame, slinking around his arms and legs in a constant, steady stream of purplish dark water. The flowing tresses of liquid shadows slithered across his chest, wrapping around his neck and snaking around his limbs. The patches of Atem's body which were not covered in shadows were bruised and bleeding.  

His head was hanging low and his chin was pressed against his chest, which did not move or rise with any sign of breathing. 

Yugi leaned up on his elbows and hissed at the pain at the base of his head. But it was barely felt in comparison to the paralyzing fear gripping at his heart. "Atem..." he whispered aloud.

But the man didn't respond. He didn't look up at his name or acknowledge Yugi's conscious state.

He was so awfully quiet there, hanging up by the shadows. 

" _Aibou_."

Yugi turned his head.

Yami was staring down at him from his seated position on a chair beside him. His legs were crossed, one knee hiked over the other, and he sat with a straight spine, as if on a throne, and cradled Atem's gun in his hand. "So happy you could join us, partner," Yami greeted with frigid warmth. He gestured to the subdued man across the room with the gun in his hand. "Atem and I were just catching up on old times."

Yugi's eyes were hot when he turned to look at Atem again. 

"Do not worry, little light. Atem is alive for the time being. I wanted to wait for you to finish him off. But I suppose now that you're awake..."

Yami lifted the gun towards Atem and cocked it. 

_"No!"_

Yugi struggled to his feet, but buckled back to the floor almost immediately. His legs pricked and were consumed with a numbness that made him momentarily unable to support himself. But he needed to get to Yami, so he tried again and only made it two steps before he collapsed back to his knees in front of his darker half. "No, please, please, _stop_." Yugi leaned up on his knees, reached out, and took Yami's face in his hands.

Yami had always felt real and solid to him in his soul room, but feeling the flesh of his darker counterpart under his palms and the blood heating his skin out here in the real world caused Yugi's stomach to churn with bile. 

Yami lowered the gun in his hand and watched the fallen angel at his feet in silence.

"Mou Hitori no Boku," Yugi cooed softly, brushing the pads of his thumbs across Yami's cheekbones. "Please, let him go."

Yami appeared interested. "Why should I?" he said. 

"I'll give you anything you want. I won't fight back. Please, please, just let him go. Kill me instead."

"Don't you _dare,_ Yugi."

An audible gasp fell from Yugi's lips at the sound of Atem's voice, and he spun around, too quickly for him to handle in his current state. He nearly blacked out again from the pain in his head, but he forced himself to remain conscious and to focus on Atem.

Yugi inhaled, and he found he could finally breathe again with that scarlet gaze on him - and Atem's eyes were just so stunning; like sunsets and rubies and roses. 

Rather abruptly, Yami grabbed Yugi's chin and twisted his head back to look at him. "Tell me, little one," Yami hissed, digging his nails into Yugi's jaw. "Did you enjoy it when Atem fucked you?" At Yugi's horrified expression, Yami chuckled. "You certainly did not block out that sense as well as you thought you did, little light of mine. Though I do wonder... did you say his name like you've done for me so many times before? Tell me, sweetest Yugi, where is your loyalty?"

"It's you," Yugi placated his darker half. "It'll always be you."

Yami sneered down at Yugi and threw his face to the side with pure disgust. "He's a pretty whore, is he not, Dr. Sennen?" he said. 

Atem opened his mouth to respond, but as soon as his lips parted, he coughed and a sudden burst of red splattered over his lips. 

Yugi couldn't find the strength to stand, disoriented as he still was, but Atem was hurting, he was dying, and so was Yugi's very soul.

He needed to be close to Atem, needed him like he needed to breathe, and so he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and began to crawl towards him.

But Yami's hand wrapped around his ankle and yanked him back.

"You certainly don't think you'll ever touch him again, now do you?"

Yugi folded in on himself at the pain that tore through his chest at Yami's words. 

Yami sensed his distress and smiled. "Oh, come here, sad little light." With a flick of Yami's wrist, Yugi's elbows were encircled by dark strands of watery black, and his body was pulled upright by the shadows. Yami hummed and brushed the side of Yugi's face with the back of his hand. "Never fret, dearest ex-vessel. It will all be over soon enough."

Yami tapped the muzzle of the gun against his chin, his expression becoming thoughtful. "Now, what game shall we play?" Yami glanced at Atem, who was desperately fighting to stay conscious. "I could kill you as slowly as possible and make Yugi watch," Yami said, directing the suggestion at Atem. Yami tilted his head, as if seriously considering the option. "Yes, it would certainly be fun to draw this out. I could also use the shadows to make you see things... I could drive you to the brink of insanity... a place devoid of hope where you will beg me to end your suffering." Yami lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. "Or –" he said suddenly, as he stood and flipped the gun in his palm; the handle of which now faced Yugi. "Or you can put a bullet through his head, and let him die with a shred of dignity."

The shadows holding Yugi upright suddenly vanished, and Yugi fell hard to his knees against the tiled floor. "W-what?" Yugi stammered, as a tidal wave of numbness crept over him and submerged him in its depths.  

Yami caught his gaze. "You kill him," he said simply, "or I will skin the flesh from his bones and give you his heart. It belongs to you, after all."

And then Yugi began to cry, and it looked like rain. 

He cried and could not will the pain to stop until it consumed him completely, and he could hardly breathe anymore.

Yami only smiled. 

"Well," he said after a minute, his voice slicing through Yugi's sobs. "I suppose if you won't kill him, then I'll just have to  - "

"No!" Yugi shot up to his feet and stood in front of Yami, unsteady but resolute. "I'll d-do it," Yugi choked out through his tears. "I'll do it-t. Just please,  _please_ don't hurt him a-anymore." 

Yami said nothing and, with a shaking hand, Yugi reached out to take the gun from the other's grip. He wasn't expecting Yami to suddenly pull it away from him. "Just remember, ex-host of mine," Yami said to him with narrowed eyes; his irises as black as night. "You hold my full attention. So, don't try anything clever. For if you try and shoot me instead, I assure you that I will have the shadows tear Atem's arms and legs from his body before you can even pull the trigger." 

Yugi couldn't respond; his voice and spirit and heart was breaking, but he nodded to show his understanding, and Yami brought the gun back within his reach.

Every part of him trembled as he wrapped his hand around the handle of the gun and stared down at it. It's outline was blurred by his vision and, with tears still rushing down his face, Yugi realized that he couldn't bring himself to move.

Yami took the initiative then and, without a word, grabbed Yugi's hand with his. He circled behind Yugi and guided the boy's hand up to point the gun at Atem, who was watching them in silence, as he struggled to breathe. With Yami's index finger falling over his, Yugi curled his finger around the trigger. A satisfied smile pulled at the corners of Yami's lips as he nuzzled their cheeks together and purred in his ear, "Yes, my little light. We'll kill him together."

Yugi shook and cried and felt like he was dying because he was. "I _loved_ you," Yugi whispered – but his words were not directed at Atem.

"Oh, I know, precious child." Yami kissed him then, pressing his lips against the younger's cheekbone. "And I think a part of you still does."

Yugi closed his eyes, and Atem could see it - he could see Yugi remembering a time when he thought that the gesture was genuine. "Do not worry, _aibou_. I promise that I will make love to you once more. And then…" Using the leverage he had on Yugi's grip, Yami turned the gun around and guided it down Yugi's body to press the muzzle against the center of his chest.

All three occupants knew that a gun shot from such close range would blow open Yugi's ribcage and leave his bones splintered and protruding from his skin; the blast would incinerate his insides, scorch and burn his flesh, and leave a gaping hole in Yugi's little body.

Yami shuddered and dug his face into Yugi's hair, inhaling deep. "And then," he finished gently, "I will watch the light finally leave those beautiful eyes." Yami shifted his hold over Yugi's hand and pointed the gun back towards Atem. "But first…" Yami said to him, "say goodbye to your beloved."

Yugi opened his eyes then and locked his gaze with Atem's. "He is… everything to me," whispered Yugi – and this time, he was talking about Atem.

"I know, Yugi, I know," Yami soothed, kissing the side of his face once more. "That's why I must take him away from you. Because I want you to leave this life with nothing. I want to take away everything you love so that your last moments can be lived knowing that you are utterly alone in this world."

Despite all of his willpower, Yugi began to sob again. 

" _Hey..._ " Yugi heard from across the room. "You s-stop crying now, you h-hear? No more tears, Yugi. Seeing you l-like this... it hurts more than a-anything this son of a bitch c-could do to me."

Atem's voice, pained and gasping as it was, sounded like heaven and sun and joy and, through his tears, Yugi caught sight of those rose-colored eyes. "I'm scared, Atem," Yugi said, reiterating his plight from earlier. 

With seemingly enormous effort on his part, Atem managed to nod. "It's okay, Yugi. It'll all be okay," he finally promised him. 

Yugi's eyes glimmered at that and, when he smiled at him, it was tiny.

Yugi raised the gun further and aimed it directly at Atem's head.

Yami grinned. 

Then, together, they both pulled the trigger.

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

But nothing happened.

For there were never any bullets in the gun in the first place.


	18. Smoke & Mirrors

_Yugi was a dark heat_ _against his skin_ , and when the younger man reached out for him and pressed his hand over his heart, Atem thought not of the blood on those hands, but of the gentle way Yugi touched him. 

His skin felt hot in the places where Yugi's body met his, but the contact didn't burn him, and Atem didn't understand why. 

After all, Yugi was powered by dark energy; by thick embers of purple and black. The fire that Yugi embodied should've branded his skin where Yugi touched him and, when it didn't, Atem found himself wishing that it had. 

He imagined his skin burning; melting and scarring in the places Yugi pressed into, so that no matter what happened next, he would always be able to carry a reminder of Yugi with him. 

The bundle of fire in his arms shifted and burned new invisible patches of skin. 

"Are you ever gonna tell me your grand master plan?"

Atem opened his eyes, and Yugi's pretty gaze greeted him, and Atem loved him for it. The color of his eyes was so distinct in that moment that Atem could almost smell the lavender. 

Atem kissed his face then for he wanted to sear his very lips so that he could always remember. 

"Atem - "

"Hush." Atem sighed and pulled Yugi even closer to him. Got more burns. Stole another memory. "Later," he said. 

"Well, don't let me interrupt your daydreaming." Yugi squirmed in his hold and grunted. "It's not like we're on a time crunch here or anything."

They were, and Atem knew that they were. "You're right." He released the tension in his arms and let one arm fall to drape gently over Yugi's hip instead. "I'm sorry. You're distracting me."

"I'm doing no such thing." Yugi pressed his hand harder into his chest; nudging him. "Now talk."

"Alright... uh, where to start. So, I guess before we get into any of that, there's something you should know. The training program prior to acceptance and clearance into the department is rather extensive. It requires at least two years of shadowing field work in conjunction with rigorous study, workshops, and case studies."

"I see you skipped the class on appropriate boundaries with your clients."

Atem clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and tsked. "You enjoying being a smart ass?"

"Fuckin' highlight of my day."

A small noise escaped from Yugi's mouth - a mix between a suppressed giggle and an indignant caw - when Atem pulled not-so-gently on one of the blond tufts of hair resting against the side of Yugi's face. "Cut it out," the psychologist warned. "There is a point to me telling you this."

"Which is?" 

Atem pursed his lips and tried to figure out the best way to explain himself. Absentmindedly, he began to rub little circles with his thumb into the groove of Yugi's hip, and he felt the tension in the younger man's frame ease under the ministrations. 

After a minute, Atem blurted out a brief summarization of his thought process. 

"Yami is a psychopath."

The tension returned to Yugi's body, two-fold. "Yami is much more than that." Yugi shifted back on the medical bed, created distance between them, and Atem felt cold and unburnt. "Yami is the devil. He is not one of the men you study in your little textbooks. He does not hide in the dark, he _is_ the dark and he is death."

"Yes, that is the pedestal you have put him on."

A scowl twisted Yugi's lips, marring his face. "The _fuck?"_  He sat up on the bed. "I'm sorry, did you place a large bet against yourself in not pissing me off today?"

"I - "

"You think you're so fucking clever, don't you?" Yugi swung his legs off of the mattress and stood to his feet. He turned to Atem with dark eyes. "You think you can treat him like any regular criminal, as if he's not in his soul room at this very moment, counting the seconds until he can kill you and rip your soul from your fucking body. You think you can outsmart him."

Atem was standing by this point as well. "I can," was all he said. 

 _"How?"_ Yugi was growing increasingly agitated, and it showed in the tight clench of his jaw and in the bite in his words. "Tell me how you plan on beating him, because the last time I checked, Yami has shadow magic and thousands of years of pent-up bullshit on his side. What do you have, Atem? What do you have that can counter that?"

From across the bed, Atem gazed at him steadily. "I have you," he said. 

"Me?" Yugi almost laughed. "What can I do? If anything, I make things _worse_. Yami hates me more than - "

"- anything." Yugi's cheeks took on a flush of color, and Atem braved on. "There is something you need to understand, Yugi. With or without puzzles or magic, Yami is still the same at his core. He is a psychopath, and he _operates_ like one. He is goal-oriented, and his sole focus and purpose lies on achieving said goals. He cares about nothing else."

"He cares about nothing _at all!_  " Yugi hissed, exasperated. "He doesn't have any emotions for you to play around with, Atem, and his only 'goal', if one even exists, is to kill every single person he comes across."

Atem nodded. "He doesn't have emotions," he agreed, "but he has hate. And like we both agreed, much of that hate is directed at you."

Yugi opened his mouth, retort at the ready. Then he paused and squinted his eyes at the other man. "Where are you going with this?" he asked him. 

Atem leaned forward then, pressed his hands into the mattress, and stared right at Yugi. "Yami's hate is ruthless, but it is calm and rational. We need it to be _irrational_."

"It sounds like you're on a fuckin' suicide mission."

"Listen to me, Yugi. You are his default outlet for his hate. You always have been, and once he is angry, you will be his goal, his focus, and you alone will hold his full attention. That's when phase two of the plan comes in."

"So, you want to piss him off? Fuckin' great idea, Atem. Excellent plan." Yugi exhaled a loud, frustrated sigh. He lifted his bandaged arm to rake his fingers through his hair and became angry when they all got caught in knots. He looked at Atem again with a skeptical, narrowed gaze. "So, what do you suggest we do? It's not like Yami is easy to rattle."

Atem pushed his weight off the mattress and came to stand with his back straight once more. "In training, we learn many things, but there are golden rules that are held above all else, and that everyone knows to follow," Atem said. "One of the most important ones is this: Never, ever make a psychopath _look like a_ _fool_."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Yami's eyes have gone from black to now just two hollow holes that take up his whole face. His sockets were pits - they looked as if Atem could dip his entire hand into them, and the shadows that swam in their depths would devour his skin and bones.

Everything Yami was, and now everything he saw was woven with darkness that beckoned whoever looked directly into his gaze to submit and be consumed by his wickedness. 

Atem shied away from those eyes, as he watched Yami slowly remove the gun from Yugi's grasp. He snapped the cylinder out of place. Looked into the chambers. 

Found no bullets. 

His neck creaked as he turned his head to look up at Atem. "Oh," he said, the syllable leaving his mouth quietly only to explode in the deafening silence of the morgue. 

The puzzle he had hung around his neck began to leak little wisps of black shadows that twisted over the edges of the gold. 

"You." Yami took a step towards the wall; towards Atem. "I see that you came prepared to play games with me, Dr. Sennen." 

Atem attempted to respond, but blood was filling his throat, and he choked on it. 

Yugi made a move.

It was subtle, but not quiet enough, and Yami lashed his arm out behind him.

A sudden burst of shadows appeared and slammed Yugi into the opposite wall, holding him there. The blood dripping from the back of his head increased in volume, coloring his hair and cheeks an even deeper shade of red.

"Tsk. Stay put, light." Yami's eyes - or moreso the gaps in his face filled with dark smoky tendrils - never left Atem. "What did you think, Dr. Atem Sennen? That you would come in here, threaten me with an unloaded weapon to release your beloved from under my control, and that I would simply submit? No, you perhaps knew that I would back out of our deal, and you wanted to make sure that I did not have a weapon at my disposal just in case. Hm. You thought ahead, I see. You must fancy yourself awfully clever."

The strands of black curls seeping from the puzzle flooded out of the cracks more forcefully now, and the shadows that held Atem to the wall tightened and pushed his cracked rib even further into his pierced lung. "You saved my partner from suffering; from being forced to blow your brains out into the wall behind you. You _ruined_ my game." The lines in Yami's face tightened, and the voice that left his mouth came from the pits of hell. " _New game_ ," he said. 

Without turning, Yami lifted a finger and an individual chamber in the wall across the room opened. A slab of cold metal fell out of it.

The shadows embracing Yugi disappeared then and, in the next instant, Yami was next to him, picking him off the ground and forcing him to stand. "My little darling," Yami murmured, taking one of Yugi's hands in both of his. "Did you know that Atem was planning to ruin my game?"

Yugi didn't look Atem's way, his focus on Yami's palms around his hand, which felt like ice and death. He whispered the word, "No."

Yami hummed and brought Yugi's hand to his lips. Kissed his knuckles. "You lie," he said.

Then snapped his wrist. 

Yugi screamed, and Atem couldn't do anything but watch and scream along with him. 

Yami didn't allow Yugi the chance to cradle his broken wrist, but instead he pulled on it and dragged Yugi to the elevated slab poking out of the chamber in the wall. He brought his free hand to Yugi's neck then, wrapped it around his throat, and hefted Yugi up onto the metal. 

Without a word, Yami teared apart the upper half of his jumpsuit, snapping the buttons clean off, and when Yugi tried to fight back, Yami broke his other wrist. 

Yugi screamed through his tears, while Atem cursed and begged from across the room.

With a snap of his fingers, Yami forced the shadows down their throats and silenced them both. 

Yugi's sobs were muffled now, but Atem could still hear them like anguished bells in his ear. 

Broken bones were never part of the plan. 

When he next spoke, Yami's voice was _menacing_.

"I was going to kill you both. But now..."  Yami brought his hand to Yugi's damp cheek, wiped away the tears he found there, and cupped his round face. "I am going to let you live, Dr. Sennen," he said, with his attention still on Yugi. "I am going to make you watch as I fuck your little dear; make you listen to Yugi beg for you and weep for you. Then, when he is sated and well fucked and I hear his pelvis bone crack under my hands, I will open him up so that you can see what he looks like on the inside, and you can tell me what parts of him you would like to keep. His spine, maybe? You can wear it as a belt, perhaps. Or I can give you his skin, and you can curl up with it at night, and it can keep you warm. I am feeling generous today, so I will let you choose."

He finally turned and caught a piece of Atem's soul with his gaze. "I want this to be the very last thing you see, so after I am all done playing my game, I will rip your eyes out of your skull. I will then break your kneecaps, so that you can never walk again and thus can never run away from these memories. And then, just when said memories begin to fade; when the sounds of Yugi's screams aren't the first thing you hear both asleep and awake, then I will come to visit you in the dead of the night and replay his last moments for you, so that it will always be fresh in your mind."

Yami turned back to Yugi and pressed his hand hard over his bare chest. "This is your home; the heart that beats under my palm. So I will tear his chest open, rip his heart from it's strings, and hold it in my hand for you to see, and you will finally know true pain, Dr. Sennen."

The shadows that were trying to fill his lungs suddenly vanished, and Atem was gasping now, taking breaths in gulps and spitting out blood in between.

Yami awaited his response. 

"You are..." Atem managed through a wheeze. He lifted his chin, forced his head up, and finally looked at Yami. "...so fucking typical."

Yami stood perfectly straight with two black holes in his face and his hand still pressed to Yugi's skin, and said nothing. 

"You are a parasite... just like the rest of them. All you k-know is hate." Atem licked the blood from his lips, took another breath, and steadied his gaze. "But Yugi was always d-different for you. He was... good and pure and s-selfless. He was light... and you _despised_ him for it." He coughed on more blood. "You t-tried to crush that light... to beat him. But you never c-could."

Yami remained eerily silent for another minute. Then, he titled his head and said, "You have prompted me to add an addendum to our game," he said. "Before we start, I will rip your tongue from your mouth and make you swallow it."

A particularly long shadow appeared then from the corner of the puzzle. It slithered up Yami's arm to his hand and, without words, Yami ordered it to tear Atem's tongue out. 

"He's right."

Everything came to a halt. 

The long strand of the shadow hovered in front of Atem's mouth, right at his lips. It waited. 

Waited for Yami to slowly turn his head back to Yugi.

Who was no longer crying. 

"You've tried to break me for years," Yugi continued with a low voice and eyes almost as dark as his other half. "But I'm still here, and I've beaten you at every one of your fucking games. I took away your puzzle. I trapped you in your soul room. I took away your freedom. _I_ did that." Blood trickled from the ends of his hair, poured from his head onto the slab beneath him, and painted his skin crimson. "You boast about being undefeated," Yugi _mocked_ him, "but you will never beat me."

Yami didn't say anything at first. He merely raised his hand from Yugi's chest to brush his fingers down the side of the boy's face instead. He smiled down at him. "Is that so, little light?" he whispered to him. 

And then Yami was on him, leaning over him, as a stream of shadows _poured_ out of the sockets of Yami's eyes and bled over his face.

"You wish to take my title?" Yami _seethed_.

The former spirit's grin began to stretch then, as some of the stray shadows swam from the holes in his face down into his mouth and filled it until no more could fit.

But more slipped in anyways, pervading every crevice until his human body could withstand no more, and the corners of Yami's mouth split at the seams, as if they had only been held together by strings of skin that were now being plucked apart.

Red mixed in with the blackness of the shadows and dripped down onto Yugi's face, and Yami was ready to devour him whole, body and soul. 

He spoke in echos, in the devil's voice, and consumed all. "If you wished to dethrone the King," he intoned, "then you and Dr. Sennen should've brought reinforcements."

Face drenched in both of their blood, Yugi locked his gaze with Yami's, stared evil in the face, and won.

"We did."

A flash of white and a flick of the wrist. 

A pretty red line appeared across Yami's throat, like a necklace.

Yugi reached out for it, touched it with his fingertips, kept his eyes on Yami's mangled face. 

Then laid perfectly still, as the line split open and blood  _washed_  over him.

It splashed against Yugi in waves, intertwining in his hair, bathing him, cleansing him, as his darker half did nothing but stare down at him, forever emotionless.

When Yami did fall away from him and down onto his knees, it was still somehow so graceful. Yugi watched him slowly bring his hand to his throat. The shadows danced frantically around the puzzle; around their wielder. 

But their magic was powerless here. 

They were meant to take lives; not save them. 

Yami didn't hear Yugi slide off the metal slab; didn't notice him kneeling next to him until Yugi's hands were on his face. "Mou Hitori no Boku," Yugi whispered against his sliced lips. "You finally got what you wanted after all this time - a mortal body." Yugi pressed his mouth against the crown of Yami's forehead and murmured into his hair, "Was it everything you thought it was going to be?"

Yami gurgled on blood, and it gushed out of his maimed mouth and onto Yugi's face. 

The shadows _screamed,_ as they died, too. 

Yugi watched in silence as they faded into nothing; watched as Yami's eyes returned where the shadows had once been, his irises dull with color.

They were a dark wine.

Befitting of a king.

When the last of the shadows disappeared from around the puzzle, Yugi released his hold on his darker half, and Yami sunk to the floor in a mangled pool of dark blood. 

Feet appeared in his line of vision. 

"That was some trippy ass shit."

Bakura sounded mildly impressed. 

Yugi ignored him and searched instead for Atem, who had collapsed on the floor opposite him and was shaking with every sharp inhale of breath.

Yugi brought his hands to his chest, barely registered the pain in the breaks of his bones, and crawled just on his knees until he reached Atem.

Atem pulled him into his arms once he was within reach and cradled his head to his shoulder and buried his nose in his hair and cried because Yugi was still warm, was so warm and alive, which meant that he wasn't cold, and he wasn't dead. 

"Fucking Christ," Atem closed his eyes tight, but the tears sneaked through anyways. "You're okay. You're okay. You're okay," he repeated until he was sure.

"Fuckin' gross," Bakura called from across the room. "Wrap this shit up."

It was a sickening sound when Bakura plunged his knife into Yami's cheekbone and dragged the blade in one hard motion across his face. 

Atem didn't watch, didn't need to, as Bakura stabbed into Yami's face until teeth were hanging from twisted blotches of skin. 

He just tried to breathe, tried not to struggle with every breath he took, and continued to check every three seconds to make sure that Yugi was still warm and quiet in his arms. 

"Alright," Bakura said after cutting off one more patch of dark hair from Yami's head. "Your 'John Doe' doesn't look like the squirt anymore. Anything else?"

Atem wanted to tell Bakura to shut the fuck up and stop talking so that he could hear Yugi's heartbeat, but he couldn't breathe around the words. 

"Shhh," Yugi urged him, still quiet and hushed in his arms. "We need to get you to a doctor now," he murmured. 

Atem nodded but could do little else. It was getting harder to stay awake. Yugi was just so, so warm. 

Yugi looked over his shoulder, past his counterpart's mutilated face, and gave Bakura the go-ahead.

The brown-eyed man just snorted and went over to the desk near the corner he had hid within. He hunched over the wooden surface. Pressed the panic button there. Then got down on his knees and stuck his hands in the air while he waited, bored, and rolled a toothpick around in his mouth. 

Atem was already unconscious by the time Yugi had turned back to him. The younger man exhaled deeply when he heard Atem's continued breathing in his ear. 

He took a moment for himself and ran his fingers through Atem's hair.

Then, he kissed his face, and there was so much blood, but it was okay.

Atem was going to be okay.

He had to be. 

"We got company," Bakura warned him.  

Yugi said he understood and lowered Atem to the floor with his forearms rather than his numb hands. 

He crawled on only his knees a bit further from where he laid Atem and sat back on his heels so that he could rest his hands in his lap. He met Bakura's gaze. "Make it look good," was all he could say before a flurry of armed guards pummeled into the room. 

For Atem, what happened after he lost consciousness was a blur. 

He briefly remembered loud voices and black eyes and overhead fluorescent lights and screaming and bits and pieces of everything and of nothing.

Then, he remembered smiling, because of the dark heat that embraced him so.

It felt like home. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is NOT over. Please stay tuned for the next chapter - coming in less than 2 weeks!


	19. No Loose Ends

Atem died on the operating table a few hours later.

He had tried to flee from the warm, open arms of death; had tried to block out the comforting lull of eternal darkness, and the whispered promises of respite, after all that his tortured soul had endured.

He had fought to stay in the land of the living, but death was as soothing as it was familiar. It reminded him of the dark heat that pumped blood through the chambers of his heart; it was reminiscent of Yugi's tender touches that burned grooves into his skin, and of lullabies that compelled him to give into the illusion of peace for the rest of eternity. 

It was a battle that he had lost.

An inevitable loss, perhaps. 

He simply shouldn't have gone as long as he did without medical attention. He shouldn't have endured the pressure of the shadows against his torso for hours, as they squeezed the very life from his body.

But Yami had wanted to draw out their time together.

He had wanted to wait for Yugi to rise from his slumber before playing his games with them both. 

And with every minute that had passed and with every breath that Atem had taken, air had escaped through the laceration in his lung and had built up within the pleural space in his chest, shifting his mediastinum and compromising his hemodynamic stability.

His critical condition was only further complicated by haemoptysis, which was a direct result of the trauma inflicted on the vessels in his lungs that had led to the blood pooling within the cavity. 

The trauma was simply too significant, and his respiratory distress too grand.

His blood pressure and oxygen levels plummeted during surgery, and his heart stopped.

He flatlined.  

Traumatic pneumothorax, the doctors had called it. 

It was only by the grace of God, Atem reasoned later on, that the doctors were able to resuscitate him and pull him back from the gentle kiss of death.  

And Atem thanked said God for sparing him from being on the receiving end of Yugi's wrath, for surely the boy would've tracked him down in the afterlife and beaten him senseless for such a grievous transgression, such as dying on him. 

Atem supposed then that he didn't mind losing the battle; didn't mind the three and a half minutes he had spent on the other side as a wandering soul in the realm of the dead.

For he had found his way back - back to Yugi, back to his true home - and despite his lost battles, in the end, he had won the war.  

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Atem's memory of the following week spent in recovery was spotty at best.

He vaguely remembered the medical terms for the procedures he was required to undergo - something about _emergent chest decompression_  and _needle thoracostomy_.

He recalled the discomfort of the tubes that they had inserted into his chest cavity, only to then remove a few days later. 

He remembered more clearly, however, the obscene amount of time he had spent fielding questions from his superiors, as they arrived in small hordes to interrogate him on the events of that afternoon. 

He had gone to the prison to meet with an old client, he had told them, and had accidentally wandered into the morgue instead, where he had found Yugi and Bakura crouched over a third, unidentifiable prisoner, who was visibly deceased at the time. He had been held against his will and beaten until he had passed out.

He couldn't recall anything after that, he informed them. 

So, no, he didn't know how Bakura had gotten out of his cell block or how Yugi had escaped from the infirmary. It sounded like that was a question for the guards on duty at the time.

He agreed with one of the prison administrators that it was very _unfortunate_ that the prison didn't have a security feed installed _inside_ of the morgue. The administrator imparted to him information that he already knew: that those in charge had never thought that there was a need to monitor a room that was supposed to be only accessible to staff and was simply there as a holding area for corpses awaiting transfer to their final resting place. 

Though Atem was sure that they had definitely found a need for a camera  _now_. 

He apologized that he could be of no help when the warden himself arrived a few days into his recovery to tell him that there were no prisoners unaccounted for, and that the deceased male found had yet to be identified.

Atem had told the man that he was sorry, but that sounded like a system error, perhaps, and that it had nothing to do with him. 

Why was Atem's gun found on the premises? He must've forgotten to turn it in at the security checkpoint.

How did he get it through undetected? He didn't know, but it sounded to him like the entry guard fucked up.

The questions kept coming, and Atem's story stayed the same.

And if anyone thought he knew more than he was letting on, well then, Atem silently wished them a grand ol' time proving it. 

One such person arrived at his hospital door a week later, when his visitors had become less frequent and his breathing more stable. 

It was clear by Malik's demeanor, by the way his lips fell into a tight line and his eyes flashed all-knowing, that his supervisor was well-aware of his involvement, though the man could not deduce to what extent said involvement was. 

After first inquiring about his condition, Malik had lowered a packet of paperwork down onto his bedside table and had placed Atem on official notice.

Even if they could prove nothing else, Atem, by his own admission, went against a direct order to abstain from meeting with any clients. He was to be suspended with pay until a thorough investigation could be conducted, Malik told him, at which time he would be cleared to come back to work or be arrested to stand trial for whatever charges they saw fit. 

Atem would be doing neither of those things, but Malik didn't need to know that. 

His suspension included an immediate halt of his security clearance and access into the prison, so the next time that Atem saw Yugi, it was with the help of the most prominent financial backer of the M.P. Prison - the man who had funded half of its construction and for whom the prison had been named after. 

Mr. Maximillion Pegasus himself.

An old friend, who Atem had met back in his training days.

A man who had a soft spot for him, Atem knew.

Though unable (and unwilling) to grant Atem access past the security checkpoint, Pegasus and the warden were able to find common ground, which allowed Atem the opportunity to face his 'captor' down in the transport area - a large multi-room extension of the prison, attached to the main building by a series of halls.

Alongside Bakura, Yugi was to be transported (with extra security provided by the FBI) to the federal courthouse so that he could insert a plea for the new charges stacked against him - a right that he had refused in his previous case of the murdered inmates and guard - and Atem was told that he could see Yugi prior to his departure for a span of ten minutes. 

There were additional provisions to this meeting, of course. 

Yugi was to remain in the holding cell at all times, where he and Bakura were impatiently awaiting transport. Rusty bars ran from the floor to the ceiling, and Atem would not be permitted access inside the cell, he was told. 

Yugi's lawyer was present as well, a man of no importance to either of them, along with a pair of federal guards that secured the doors. The warden himself stood close-by and monitored them, and Atem knew that the only reason that he had agreed to this in the first place was with the underlying motive of proving Atem's guilt in all of this.

Whether they presumed him at fault or not, Atem knew that they would need all the evidence they could gather before they charged an employee of the Federal Bureau with anything improper. 

Even so, the warden knew that he was not the victim in this like he was claiming to be.

Atem would go on to validate these notions, for he had no intention of holding up his facade today. 

Come nightfall, none of it would matter anyways.  

"You look like shit, Atem," Yugi greeted him.  

The boy looked even smaller than Atem remembered. He was thin, too thin, under his prison jumpsuit, and his cheekbones were more prominent than usual. The casts around his wrists were painful reminders in Atem's heart of what the boy had endured that fated afternoon two weeks ago. 

"Nice to see you, too." Atem stood close, almost against the bars. "You look like you're not eating enough," he countered.

Yugi pursed his lips and gave a little shrug. "Haven't had much of an appetite these past two weeks," he said. 

"Still." Atem pressed. "You should at least try - "

Atem lost his breath then and broke into a coughing fit. He brought a closed fist to cover his mouth and rested his other hand over his chest, right over the scar from his surgery, as he tried to soothe the ache that manifested itself from the strain of his cough. 

"Sorry," Atem muttered when he caught his breath again.

He looked back up and found Yugi was frowning at him.

"I would've killed you, y'know," Yugi said, his tone softer now. He raised his hands to wrap around the bars in between them. "If you had died. Or I guess I should say if you had stayed dead," he clarified. 

"Oh. You heard about that."

"There's been a lot of talking going on within these walls since..."

"Yeah..." Atem mused, just as quiet. "Well. In any case, I'm pretty sure you can't kill someone who's already dead."

Yugi watched him, his eyes forever breathtaking. "I would've found a way," he said. 

The corners of Atem's lips twitched.  "I don't doubt it," he breathed. 

A disapproving scoff left the lawyer's mouth. "You guys have seven minutes," he told them. 

"Seriously, fuck _off_."

"Yugi." 

"I mean, Christ, he spent all that money on a law degree just to sit here and tell us the fucking time."

_"Yugi."_

The boy rolled his eyes. "Fine," he snapped, then he pinned Atem with a small glare. "I don't like when you do that," he said. 

"When I do what?"

"That."

"Ah, yes, thank you for that clarification."

" _That_." Yugi looked seconds away from stomping his foot. "I don't like when you open your stupid mouth and say my name. Actually, I don't like when you talk at all, because I hate how much I miss you talking when you're gone." Yugi dropped his gaze to the ground. "And you're gone so much, and you almost died, you _did_ die, and it's all I can think about," he said, near a whisper. 

"Yugi..." Atem lifted his hands to cover the smaller ones still wrapped around the bars. His heart longed at the contact. It longed, and it hurt, too. "I'm here. I've told you before, I'm not going anywhere," he said. 

Yugi shook his head, and golden strands swayed over his cheeks. "You scared me," he said, a hard edge back in his voice. 

Atem sighed then and gave up all pretenses.

He reached forward with his hand and traced the delicate curve of Yugi's cheek with his thumb, the pad trailing over the soft skin like tears. "I scared _you_? Ha. You nearly gave me a heart attack." Atem laughed, but it was tampered and weighed down by sad undertones. "I thought for sure he was going to...," he trailed off.

His eyes drifted over to the casts around Yugi's wrists and his shoulders fell. His entire body almost fell then, and he wanted to fall, right onto his knees and beg Yugi for forgiveness. 

But Yugi didn't give him the chance to grovel. Instead, the younger man reached in between the bars to tilt his chin up and peer into his eyes. "I vowed I would never say this to anyone ever again," he told him then. "But you... you never make anything easy for me."

"What - ?"

"Shut up for once, I'm not done talking yet." Yugi's hand dropped from his chin, and Atem saw only flowers in his eyes.

Atem envisioned them both sitting on grass then, in a meadow perhaps, and peace has found him again. Yes, it was peace that flowed through him when Yugi told him, with bars separating them, that he loved him. 

And then the meadow was gone, and Atem imagined a mirror instead.

Or maybe a picture.

No. A puzzle.

One that was finally coming together after all this time, and Atem realized then that all of the pieces that made him up were tinted purple and reflected only Yugi.  

Atem leaned his cheeks into the bars then, brought his fingers to the underside of Yugi's smooth jaw, and beckoned him forward to press his lips to his mouth. 

They kissed, unashamedly and open-mouthed, between metal bars, because _fuck_ the forces that tried to keep them apart.

None of it ever mattered anyway.

Atem knew that nothing - not walls or bars or spirits or even death - could ever come in between them. 

They ignored the outraged shriek from the lawyer, the disgusted sneer from the warden, and the unwanted comment from Bakura on the other side of the cell, as Atem moved his lips against Yugi's without pause.

He only faltered when he felt Yugi wince against his lips, and Atem trailed his tongue over the boy's bottom lip as an apology, licking the small speck of blood he found there. 

A guard was separating them then, gripping Atem's shoulders and shoving him back. 

"Alright, _alright!_ " Atem hissed, ripping his arm free and taking a step back. "I'm away," he said with raised hands.  

"Doesn't matter. Time's _up_ ," the warden snarled. "Say goodbye."

Atem turned back to Yugi, reached out for his hand, but was pushed away, towards the exit, before he could make contact.

So he caught Yugi's gaze instead and said over his shoulder, "Behave yourself, _please_."

Atem grunted when he was shoved again, right out the door. 

"No promises," he heard Yugi call after him, right as the door was shut in his face, and he realized that his mouth tasted of copper. 

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

_"Yeah, this is Jaden Yuki. I'm at the desk for area 739 and have two FBI agents here to secure transport for Prisoners Motou, Yugi and Akefia, Bakura. They're just finishing up the paperwork, and will be ready to proceed in ten."_

The words were outlined in static and felt sudden after standing in the eerily quiet room for nearly two hours. 

"Great, they're early." Hitori - the shorter and bulkier of the two guards standing watch - ducked his chin towards the radio pinned to his shoulder and said, " _Copy that. We'll escort the prisoners to the van_." He looked over at the holding cell with narrowed eyes and sneered. "Time to go, you sick fucks."

"How very original of you," Yugi said tonelessly, watching the ceiling, his gaze bored. 

Bakura scoffed, one leg hiked over a knee as he picked at his nails. "Spent too much time on his knees in the academy to ever learn any proper insults," he suggested. 

"How many of his bosses dicks do you think he took in his mouth to get this swanky position being our glorified babysitter?" Yugi took to counting the little dots in the ceiling tiles. "Like three?"

Bakura flicked a piece of dirt from underneath his thumb. "Are we talking about over the length of his career or how many dicks he can take all at once?"

"Both."

The cell door was ripped open with enough intensity to slam against the bars and send vibrations along the floor. 

Yugi hissed when he was yanked by his cast up onto his feet. "You got a fuckin' mouth on you," the guard spat, as he twisted Yugi's arms behind his back and cuffed him.

Yugi went to argue, found it to be pointless, and told the guard to go fuck himself instead. "And your mom. Though I'm sure you've done that plenty of times before."

Bakura snickered, as the other guard on duty secured his hands behind him and ushered him out of the cell. He was older than the guard rough-handling Yugi, and perhaps more weary of exactly who they were escorting to the van waiting outside. 

The van itself was long but thin, rectangular in shape, and was complete with a set of steel bars that separated the driver from its passengers. A precaution if the gun in the holster by the driver's hip wasn't enough of one.

The back of the van had two benches that lined the sides and faced towards each other, a mere two feet apart, almost close enough to bump knees.

Hitori shoved Yugi in first, secured him to the chain attached to the bench.

Bakura was fastened to the opposing bench.  

"They're all yours, Al," Hitori said to the guard in the driver's seat from his spot at the back of the van. 

Al glanced at him in the rearview mirror and nodded. He picked up the walkie on his dashboard. _"Prisoners secured. We all set to go?"_ he said into it. 

An accented voice belonging to one of the FBI agents came over the radio. _"All good to go. It's a long drive. Let's get this over with."_

Al snorted. _"You're telling me,"_ he said, then lowered the walkie onto the passenger seat next to him. "See you boys in a few hours," he directed these words to the guard still standing at the van doors. 

Hitori reiterated the sentiment, glared at the two confined prisoners, and slammed the back doors close. Circling the van, he walked a few steps towards the sleek, black cruiser and tapped on its hood. The blond agent at the wheel returned the sendoff with a small salute and turned over the ignition.

The van and cruiser bringing up the rear followed suit, and all three engines revved to life. 

The first cruiser drove forward, out of the open prison gates, and the two cars behind him followed. 

There were no windows in the van, and Yugi could only see glimpses of the outside world through the cracks in the bars that blocked most of the windshield.

There were trees though. Lots of trees. 

And lots of potholes that the van's wheels would dip into as it trucked over loose gravel on the road. 

"So, what did you get?" Yugi asked the white-haired man a few minutes into the drive.

Clarification wasn't needed on the matter.

They both knew what he was talking about. 

"A pack of cigarettes," Bakura said, lifting his dark gaze to look at Yugi. 

"And?"

"A transfer."

"To where?"

"What do you fucking care?" Bakura closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the side of the van. "All you need to know is I held up my end of the bargain."

"No need to get pissy," Yugi said. "Was just trying to make conversation."

"Well, don't. You and Atem are testing my patience with all this bullshit." He peeked one eye open to stare at him. "And despite all the disgusting PDA and fake tears you put on for show, I'm still convinced you're using him."

Yugi met his gaze evenly. "I am," he spoke, then glanced away. 

"Ha." Bakura smirked. "Knew it. Someone like you isn't capable of giving a fuck about anyone but your damn self."

"I wouldn't go saying all that," Yugi said. "I care about things."

Bakura snorted. "Like what?"

Yugi glanced away, thoughtful. "Like the blood on my hands... and justice." He pursed his lips; squinted his eyes. "Or revenge, perhaps, depending on how you look at it." He shrugged. "And despite what you think, I care about things that are mine. Like Atem's heart."

"You just said that you're manipulating him."

Yugi responded with an airy chuckle. "What makes you think those are mutually exclusive things?" he asked him. 

Bakura didn't answer, found himself bored again, and was therefore done with the conversation.

But that was okay, because Yugi had nothing left to say on the matter anyways.

They sat in relative silence for a few minutes, before another pit in the road bounced Yugi up, then back down hard onto his seat.

He swore, waited another minute, until he was sure that the driver's attention was completely on the road, then he hiked his knees up, planted his feet onto the flat seat, and made himself into a small ball. 

With little effort, he rolled his shoulders and dragged his bound hands over the curve of his tailbone and past the bottom of his feet. 

Bakura watched him with mild interest. "Neat," he commented when Yugi sat straight up again, with bound hands in front of him now. "Guess it pays to be a midget."

"Sure does." Yugi rested his hands, casts, cuffs, and all, in his lap.

The guard would probably notice his change in position later in the drive, but the chains were short enough - a few feet give or take - that Yugi couldn't get to the guard even if he wanted to.

Not to mention, the bars. 

It was safe to say that Al was well out of his reach. 

Lucky him. 

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

It had been a solid year since Isis had last found herself at the gates of the M.P. Prison. Her supervisory status had not required her to meet with clients in quite some time, and she had rather enjoyed her time away from the residents of this particular structure. 

Still, she remembered the layout as if her last visit had been simply yesterday, and she waited patiently by the proper side entrance with two federal agents in tow until a buzz came overhead and allowed her entry into the first room of the transport area. 

"Afternoon," the guard at the front desk greeted. "Name's Jaden. What can I do you for?"

Isis pulled out her wallet to present her badge and identification to the guard. "My name is Isis Ishtar," she said. "We're here to aid in the transport of Bakura Akefia and Yugi Motou to the federal courthouse."

The man raised an eyebrow at her and pinned her with a strange look. "The prisoners already left like forty minutes ago with the other agents you guys sent over," he said plainly. 

The muscles in Isis' body locked into place all at once. "What other agents?" she asked, a sharp edge to the question. 

Jaden noticed this and raised an eyebrow at her. "Ah, well, let's see." He pulled out a clipboard from the upper drawer of the desk, and scanned the attached paperwork. He pointed towards the signatures at the bottom of the page. "Oh, yeah, it was an agent Joseph Young. The other one had a strange name, you know that agent with the freakishly bright blue eyes? Oh, right here, it was agent Yami H - "

"That's not possible."

"Sorry ma'am, but those were the agents that picked them up. It's probably just a mix-up with you guys. I mean, their credentials are right here, and they had all the paperwork for the transport - "

" _No_."

Isis' tone silenced him immediately.

"You don't understand," she continued slowly, her phone already to her ear. "We didn't  _send_ any other agents."

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

Yugi spent the last twenty minutes of the ride humming, despite Bakura's threats and the driver's pleas for him to shut the fuck up.

"Fuck," Bakura eventually spat. "I shoulda just slit your throat instead of that fuckin' demon that used you as a hostel. Or whatever the fuck he was."

Yugi tilted his lips. "No, demon is a pretty good description," he said. 

"Heh. Died like a human though." Bakura mused with a nasty grimace. "Fucking pathetic. Just like everyone else."

Yugi opened his mouth to respond, but the scratchy voice of the radio filled the car instead, effectively cutting him off.

 _"Obstruction up ahead,"_  the agent said over the radio. _"I'll check it out. You both stand back and wait for the all clear."_

" _10-4 over,"_ another deeper voice answered, and Yugi bit his bottom lip. " _I'll stay behind with the van._ "

"Fuckin' ridiculous," Bakura snapped as the van began to slow, before coming to a full stop entirely. "Let's just go already. I got shit to do."

"Hey, shut up back there," Al retorted. "You think I like this?"

"I think you like fondling little girls and using this job as a cover." Bakura grinned cruelly.  

"I should fucking shoot you," the guard said darkly. "Say it was an accident, that I feared for my life, and just kill the both of you. I'd get a fucking medal, do you know that? For ridding the world of the likes of you two."

Bakura laughed, and it filled up the entirety of the van. "Oh, now that's something I'd fucking pay to see," he said.

Yugi seemed disinterested with the exchange, and only came to attention when he heard a knock at the driver's side window. He couldn't see the person on the other side of the door from inside the van, but he could hear the muffled voice of one of the agents when Al rolled down his window.

"What's the matter?" Al asked.

"Your back tire is low, almost flat," the agent said. "Think you ran over something and the air's leaking."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Al jerked open the door and stepped out of the van, and the occupants inside could hear no more of the conversation. 

Yugi sighed and turned to Bakura then. "How about a story?" he offered. "To help pass the time?"

"Fuck off." 

"Oh, come _on._ " Eyes of dark violet glinted. "You'll like this one. It's about a light being snuffed out."

Bakura glanced at him. He shifted in his seat, and the cuffs tying his hands behind his back jiggled. "Fine," he grunted. "Shoot."

"Okay. Story time."

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

Malik was walking across the parking lot of the headquarters when his phone began to ring and vibrate in his pocket; a heavy pulse against his thigh. 

A scowl twisted at his lips.

He had been in his office for nearly three days, deprived of both sleep and food, as he worked hours on end trying to make sense of what had transpired in the morgue a few weeks prior between his protégé and two cold-blooded murderers.

People were being investigated and put on notice left and right. Internal Affairs was breathing down his neck, and everyone was in a frenzy to identify the disfigured corpse before news stations picked the story up.

God, and then there was his anger; the  _fury_ that curled in his blood, because he _knew_ that Atem had a hand in this, even if he didn't yet know how.

And the idea that his employee, his dear friend of so long, would do this to them, to the department, to _him_.

It was salt in a wound so deep, Malik could feel it burning inside of him.

In a fit of misplaced rage, Malik yanked the phone from his pocket and raised it into the air, ready to smash it against the ground where he stood.

But in a space of just a moment, his brain finally registered the programmed ringtone.

It was Isis. 

He paused.

Then, he exhaled a deep breath out of his nose and counted in his head. 

When he got to ten, he brought his thumb to the screen to answer the call, but found himself hesitating again. 

This time, it was because of something that had caught his attention.

Malik lowered his phone and frowned at the empty booth across the lot. 

Ryuji wasn't manning his post. 

Which wouldn't have been so out of the ordinary if Malik hadn't noticed that the booth had been empty an hour earlier as well when he had stepped out from some fresh air. 

He had assumed at the time that Ryuji had taken a bathroom break. 

But now...? 

The vibrations in his hand came to a halt, as he abandoned his path towards his car and walked over to the booth. 

His stomach began to churn with each step he took, and he didn't know why until he caught sight of a dark liquid seeping from the crack at the bottom of the entry door to the booth. 

By the time he was close enough to distinguish the liquid as blood, he was ripping open the door and nearly tearing it from its hinges.

Ryuji was there, curled up on the ground, with his black hair tinged red. 

Malik felt the bile rise in his throat as his phone began to vibrate again against his palm, accompanied by a familiar tune. 

He swallowed.

Then, sinking to one knee to check for a pulse, Malik accepted the call, brought the phone to his ear, and hissed into the receiver, "Where is _he?"_

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

"So once upon a time, there was this man. He was a sweet man; a tender soul, who lived his life helping others. He was beautiful, really, inside and out. I remember he had these big dark eyes, and a smile that could end wars. "

Bakura inched forward a fraction, inclined his head. "You knew this man?"

"Oh, yes, very well," Yugi said quietly. "You see, he was my friend. And he was truly... the brightest light I had ever encountered." 

Yugi leaned forward, caught Bakura's eyes, and _smiled_.

"That is, until he met _you_."

Bakura's shouts were muffled by Yugi's hand suddenly over his mouth and by the razor blade splitting his skin and sinking into his throat.

He tried to yell, to scream, but it caught in his throat, and all that came out of his mouth instead was a bubble of blood that splattered over Yugi's hand and painted his cast.

Yugi shushed him with a tsk of his tongue. Blood was leaking from his own mouth, caused by the sudden force of spitting the blade from his inner cheek. It stained his white teeth red.

"Ah, ah, none of that," Yugi whispered to him. "It's rude to interrupt."

Bakura struggled against the chains, his arms twisting behind his back, and cuffs cutting into his wrists. But he was pinned to the wall by a body, by a razor, and unable to use his hands. He kicked out, hard, but Yugi squirmed in between his knees, wouldn't budge, and with each sudden movement the Bakura made, the pressure of Yugi's hand weighed heavier and the blade sunk deeper, allowing more blood to escape the newly formed incision making its way through his muscles and arteries, and taking with it his strength to fight back.

The chains attached to Yugi's cuffs were short enough to keep him from the driver, but with his hands bound in front of him instead of behind him, the few feet the chains did allow was enough for him to take two steps forward and slice a point into Bakura's throat. 

"Now, as I was saying," Yugi said. "Ryou... well, he was just the kindest person in the entire world. Then you came along, and you stalked him. You kidnapped him. And you tortured him bloody." It was coming faster now, like red water slipping in between Yugi's fingers. "He was never quite the same after that, you know. He cut off all contact with his friends... with me. Then, he moved far, far away, and we never spoke again. I know you meant to kill him that night, and you nearly succeeded. But Ryou... he did beat you in the end. He lived, and well. That's more than anyone is going to be able to say about you."

Bakura's eyes were wide, panicked, when they found his, and the psychopath was breathing in so sharply, like gasping shards of glass into his lungs, and it still wasn't enough. Yugi hummed; watched him as he slowly drowned in his own blood. "Atem asked me to behave, so I won't cut your dick off and make you suffer, even though you deserve it. He didn't want me to do this at all really, but let me tell you a little secret; just between you and me.

"You see, Atem loves me dearly. Very foolish of him, I know, but that does not change the fact that he would give his very life for mine. So, I knew that if I batted my eyes _extra_ pretty at him, he'd let me get away murder. Ha, quite literally."

Bakura tried to breathe again and wound up gurgling, and a fresh ripple of scarlet pushed out from the gash in his throat.

"So," Yugi continued on, "I fucked him, and then I asked him for this here razor. The very one that I'm using to kill you with right this moment." Yugi's tone had a touch of fondness to it. "I suppose that's it, really. I hope wherever Ryou is, that when he hears about this, he'll be able to find the peace you stole from him." Yugi frowned, paused, then his eyes brightened. "Oh! And one last thing," Yugi brought his mouth to Bakura's ear and breathed, "would you be a dear and say hello to Yami for me? I'm sure you'll have a special place next to him in hell."

With one last thrust of his hand, the blade disappeared entirely inside folds of skin, severing Bakura's carotid artery and sending a splatter of blood _everywhere_.

It dripped from the tips of Yugi's bangs, as he settled back onto his bench and watched Bakura's body convulse with each gush of blood.

And then his body stilled, the river of red slowed, and it was all over.

Bakura's eyes glazed over.

A dirty brown.

Nothing like Yami's. 

"Hm," Yugi mumbled aloud to no one. "You're right. Dying looks pretty pathetic on everyone."

He sat there in silence, even after the back doors of the van swung open, and two men appeared in the threshold against a backsplash of trees and sunlight. 

"Yugi," a voice called out to him. 

Atem. 

Yugi barely heard him, and just kept staring at Bakura's lifeless body. Soulless, too, but Yugi supposed that the man never really had one of those to begin with. 

"Yug'."

He heard that voice more clearly than the first. It was enough to make him turn away from Bakura to look instead into a pair of amber eyes. 

Yugi inhaled a deep breath and held it in his lungs. 

He stood from the bench, took one step forward, and stumbled to the floor of the van, surrounded by blood and chains. 

Arms were around him then, and he caught sight of blond hair just as tears began to blur his vision. 

 _"Jou,"_ he exhaled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue has been added to this story. So, two more chapters after this one. 
> 
> Comments are loved! Or questions, if you are chalk full of them. Or feedback/cc/praise.
> 
> Anything really. :)


	20. Haunted Farewells

It was a long three days that followed.

Car switch points, eight hour driving shifts, and crippling anxiety interrupted only by bouts of dread any time someone so much as passed their car or glanced their way.

Even bathroom and gas breaks were few and far between, because every stop they made was another opportunity to be recognized.

Within those first few hours, when the entirety of Domino city and the state it resided within had gone on lockdown, all the dyed hair and caps and sunglasses in the world could not ease the thudding inside of their chest cavities.

But they could do little, but carry on. 

Atem knew that they had long surpassed the point of no return.

There was simply too much at stake to do anything else but continue down the path they were on. It was now a matter of life and death. 

But Atem supposed that for Yugi, it always had been. 

* * *

**~o0~0~0o~**

* * *

It was only two cars later and three states away that the tension in the car diminished just enough to take a single full breath.

Atem tilted the rearview mirror a bit more forward and adjusted the driver's seat, shortly after trading off shifts with Jou who was much taller than himself. With Yugi situated in the passenger seat, Jou was allowed the expanse of the backseat to stretch out and settle in for a nap. Their time crunch did not allow the luxury of staying in a run-down, cash-only motel to recuperate for a night. They needed to keep moving, and that meant the backseat of this old, rusting Ford was the bed they would share.  

With the exception of discussing logistics, it had been a near silent car ride thus far. 

Yugi had not spoken a word since they had uncuffed him from the back of the prisoner transport van and left the scene in a stolen FBI cruiser - the same one Atem had taken from the headquarters after knocking Otogi out at his post and securing the key.

Aware of the ability to track the vehicle due to the installed GPS system on the dashboard, they abandoned the car quickly, about fifteen minutes into their escape, in a woody area nearby, where another sedan awaited them, trunk stocked with the essentials - water, non-perishables, changes of clothes, and a duffle bag of cash from Atem's drained bank accounts as well as miscellaneous fake identification.

They had avoided the checkpoints initially set up at the borders of the state by utilizing residential streets and off roads, and had continued to do so up until this point.

But now, states away and with nightfall upon them, Atem began to make his way towards the highway, on-ramp. 

And as he did so, he stole several glances to the boy beside him, who sat within a sphere of silence and managed to make every other noise around them - the crickets, the tires, the engine - so much louder.

Atem looked back out at the road, and the beats of his heart slowed to match the sound of Yugi's breathing, enmeshed as he was with the boy's very existence. 

As Atem approached a red light, prior to his turn onto the on-ramp, he tried to focus on the directional signs in front of him.  

But Yugi was gravity, and Atem's eyes were drawn to him once more. From this angle, with only street lights at his disposal, Atem could just barely make out the curves in the boy's face. But even in the dark, Atem was able to see clearly enough that the fire that used to illuminate Yugi's entire being was no more. From the ends of his fingertips up to his once proud, wild hair that now hung at its tips, as if it, too, had lost its identity. 

Yugi looked so quiet, sitting there, and so lost somewhere inside of himself.

It was as if he had been extinguished. 

"Hey." 

Atem coaxed him quietly. He tried to bring Yugi out of the abyss, and offered the boy his hand. 

But Yugi pulled away from him and sunk further into the seat, further into the darkness that consoled him, and Atem wondered if Yugi would ever accept that the darkness was not where he belonged. 

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

By the start of the second day of traveling, the initial panic of certain capture had subsided, and all that remained was tense resolve to see this through. 

With Jou at the wheel, they spent most of the second day listening quietly to the radio and the news reports, to the near constant updates of law enforcement in their search of the escaped mass murderer, Yugi Motou, and his two accomplices, which they had already identified as flight pilot and relative to the escapee, Katsuya Jounouchi, and FBI Agent Atem Sennen.

With a head of dyed brown hair, and sunglasses to keep the bright rays of the afternoon at bay and any passing pedestrians in this residential neighborhood non-the-wiser, Jou continued east-bound.  

Yugi had yet to move from the passenger seat. His only show of life in the past few hours had been to tie his newly fresh black hair into a bun on top of his head. Shorter pieces of dark strands quickly found themselves falling back out to curl around his face. There was no more blond to be found. 

Otherwise, the occupants had remained relatively motionless, with Atem sleeping in the backseat, and Jou listening to the lull of music coming from the radio. He had changed the station an hour prior to give them a brief break from the constant stream of news outlets. 

Speaking of anything other than where the next resting point was had seemed implicitly forbidden up till that point. It seemed almost taboo to open a dialogue within the car, the occupants therein unsure of what needed to be said and what exactly should be left unspoken. Words almost seemed counterintuitive, like they would do nothing more than jinx them and lure them into a false sense of comfort that they were safe.

But even though Jou knew they were not yet out of the woods, a day and a half in and hundreds of miles away from the city that was in complete disarray at this point, he came to the realization that fear wasn't the only thing taking up space in the car. 

There was guilt, too. 

"Atem told me about Yami..." he said, quietly. 

There was a small delay, a momentary stillness in which Jou was sure that his words would be ignored by their targeted audience. 

So it had come as a surprise when Yugi slowly turned to look at him, his eyes a lighter shade of lilac than Jou remembered. 

"Do you believe me now?" Yugi whispered into the space between them.

Into all the years that had passed. 

Jou, for a moment, met Yugi's gaze. 

He had never met Yami, not in the same sense that Atem had. He had only heard the stories, the horrific news reports that had kept him awake at night for months on end back when this had all started. He was so unsure of everything, had been unsure for years, and had lived most of his adult life in uncertainty. But still, he was able to recognize the person next to him as his long, very lost brother, who he had missed so much for far too many years.

"I believe you didn't mean to hurt those people," Jou finally said. 

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

At the next gas station they stumbled upon, Atem and Jou took the reprieve to discuss their next steps before switching off driving duties.  

It was only when Jou's light snores reached the front of the car that Yugi's next words were spoken. 

"Do you still love me?" 

As abrupt as the question was, Atem didn't react as if he was caught off-guard by it, and his eyes remained fixated on the road in front of him.

"I could never stop loving you, Yugi," he told him, and the words were easy to speak. "If I ever did, I fear I would simply cease to exist."

"But..."

Atem saw Yugi shift in his seat out of the corner of his eye, and he felt an intensity on his cheek from Yugi's stare.

"I killed someone," Yugi said. 

Atem glanced over at him. "You did," he confirmed. 

He waited until Yugi's gaze had fallen to his lap to return his eyes to the road, but still Yugi had his full attention.

"I used to think..." the boy said, and it was more of a whisper. "I used to think that I was different than him. But I killed someone, and he didn't make me do it this time. It was... I was cruel, Atem. I offered Bakura no mercy. And worse still, I used you to help me kill him - you... the only light I've come across in years. And now, because of this, I'm not sure who I am anymore."

Atem was silent for a long time after that.

He made no motion to answer, and it wasn't until he had reached an endless dirt road that he slowed the car and let it fall to a complete stop on the side of the road, surrounded only by a field of corn to the right, and an open expanse of grass to their left.

Yugi acknowledged the unscheduled stop. "What are you - ?"

"I almost killed Bakura once," Atem said, as he kicked the car into park and let it idle. 

There was a wrinkle on Yugi's forehead. "You did?" he asked, a bit stunned. "When?"

"It was after I had asked him to get you out of solitary," Atem exhaled, and there was a shake to it. "All I could think of was you, and how... I could have lost you. I had never experienced the kind of fear that I felt when I first heard what happened. And I wanted to kill him for hurting you. I was angry, and just full of rage... but it was more than that." Atem reached out and touched Yugi's cheek, brushed a loose black strand that he found there out of his eyes, so he could see every little bit of those irises that he loved so. "I was scared. I was so scared, Yugi. I still am." Atem slowly let his hand drop. "Point is, we all have a darkness inside of us. And mine is driven by the fear of losing you."

"Now, I know you used how I felt about you to get that blade, but Yugi... you experienced the true nature of  _hell._ For years. And during that time, you had to learn how to live with it and how to survive. That being the case, you now have to learn how to operate and how to cope outside of all of this ugly, to find other defaults that don't involve manipulation and lashing out. But that's going to take time, Yugi. A lot of time, and a lot of self-care. And even then, sometimes you'll get angry or you'll cry, and you won't know why. But I'll still love you, anyways. You have wounds that need to heal... but you're not broken."

Yugi took a deep breath in, and the action looked like it pained him. "I feel broken," he whispered. 

Atem's gaze softened. "Yami had a darkness inside of him. You do, too," he said, capturing Yugi's attention once more. "But what drives them is what makes you different from him. Yami killed because it made him feel good. He could never be compromised by guilt or remorse. He thrived on chaos. He wanted to destroy and snuff light where he found it. Whereas you, you feel guilty for what you did - "

"I don't."

Atem gently shook his head."You don't feel guilty that Bakura is dead," he clarified. "But you do feel guilty that you were the one that caused him to die. You were in tears when we found you."

Yugi closed his eyes. "I was crying for Ryou," he stressed. 

Atem offered him a tiny smile. "I know you were," the elder said. "But that's what I'm trying to tell you. We all have a darkness inside of us. But the difference is... Yami's darkness was driven by hate. Yours is driven by love."

Yugi said nothing else, not until Atem had shifted the car back into drive, and the slow rumble of the tires rolling along the dirt filled the air. 

"I don't deserve you, Atem."

But even so, this time when Atem opened his palm, Yugi took his hand.  

* * *

**o0~0~0o**

* * *

"Why did you help us?"

It was dark outside again, and the half-moon guided their way across state borders. Jou was at the wheel once more and after hours of silence, the now brunet had figured that both Yugi and Atem had been asleep. 

Jou glanced into the rearview mirror and caught Yugi's gaze. 

The younger man had switched to the backseat after Atem had strained his neck, and his presence in the back allowed Atem to rest his head in his lap for additional padding. 

"You didn't think I would?" Jou asked him.

"I didn't want you to," Yugi said. "I didn't want you involved. If they catch us, you'll go to jail for the rest of your life... why would you risk all of that for me? You had a life, separate from all of this..."

"So will you, one day," Jou said in response, and he sounded so unjustly sure of it. With his eyes on the road in front of him, Jou continued, quieter now, "Look, Yugi... I'm sorry - "

"Stop."

"I should've been there for you."

"It's fine."

"It's _not_ ," Jou asserted, and Yugi fell silent. 

"Hear me out for a second," Jou said, tiredly, but with an air of necessity. "For a long time, Yug', I've been... walkin' around with this _rock_ on my shoulders. It's there, all the time, mornin' and night. And it's been weighin' me down for years. But now... right now, in this car, I don't feel it anymore. It's like... it's suddenly just _gone_." Jou peeked again at the mirror and found shaded violet eyes watching him. "I didn't believe you back then... and I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. So, this is my apology to you. And to be honest, this was the only way I felt like I would ever be able to forgive myself, and get rid of that rock I'd been carryin' around all this time." Jou returned his gaze to the dark scenery in front of him. "I hope you can forgive me one day, too."

Yugi looked out into the darkness, too, and exhaled. 

It was quiet for a few minutes. 

"I forgive you," he said.

And then it was quiet again. 

Feeling a small shift in his lap, Yugi glanced down and watched Atem bury his head further into his stomach. The elder man had driven through the evening and was catching up on whatever sleep he could manage before his next shift. Without much intention behind it, Yugi raised his hand and began to brush his fingers through the man's dark hair, through raven strands mixed with pieces of gold, because the blond dye wouldn't fully take on Atem's dark hair. 

Yugi's lips curved into a half-smile. 

"I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him."

Yugi's fingers paused his Atem's hair. He retracted his hand from the tresses and returned his focus to the window beside him. "He's special," was all Yugi said.

Jou nodded and brought a closed hand up to his face to rub at his eyes in an effort to remain alert. "I don't get it, Yug," Jou spoke again, placing his hand back on the steering wheel. "You would think you would be happy... you know, if Yami... if he's gone and everythin', and you're free... you would think you would be happy." He bit the inside of his lip. "But you look... sad. Like you lost someone close to you."

Yugi continued to stare outside, past the dark silhouettes of trees. He blinked a few times, and the burn in his eyes lessened. 

"That's just it, Jou," Yugi whispered. "I _did_."

Jou was quiet then, unsure of what to say, and fixed his gaze instead to the lanes in front of him. 

And it was then that Yugi felt fingers on his jaw. He looked down into Atem's soothing gaze, and those eyes of red gold said it all. 

 _It's okay_ , they said. _It's okay to mourn your other half; the love you used to have for him, the friend you thought he was, the good memories you shared. You can hate who he was, hate what he did... and still grieve your loss. It's okay._

Yugi said nothing.

Just touched Atem's temple with the tips of his fingers and looked back out the window.

* * *

  **o0~0~0o**

* * *

It was only on the third day, hours away from their final destination and not a potential threat in sight, that the lines in Atem's face eased.

"You seem pretty calm," Yugi observed almost instantly, eyes glued to the driver's side profile.

"Ha, do I?" Atem smiled, and it's authenticity made Yugi doubt his place in this car, surrounded by people so full of all the good things in this world. "Well, I certainly don't feel calm," he continued to say. "I'm not going to lie to you, Yugi, my heart is in my stomach right now. I feel like... like I'm just waiting for it."

Yugi pursed his lips. "Waiting for what?"

Atem shrugged. "For sirens, for lights." He glanced towards him. "Waiting for someone to take you away from me."

"That _won't_ happen," Yugi assured him with certainty.

Atem frowned and tightened his hands around the steering wheel. "There are just some things I can't control," he said, quietly. 

Jou said nothing from his spot in the back, very much awake, but silent in his wish to allow the other two a semi-private moment. 

"We've come this far," Yugi replied. "And if they catch us now... well," his gaze wandered towards the sun shining between the trees. "It's as nice a day to die as any."

Atem glanced over at him for just a moment. "I suppose it is," he concurred. 

And yet, no one had to die that day.

Their final destination upon them, the occupants arrived at an open field that ran parallel to thin runway strip. A small plane waited at its edge. 

With a sliver of urgency, they shuffled out of the car, stretching limbs wide and long. 

It took only a minute for Atem to unload the trunk, duffle bag slug over his shoulders, and a small bag of leftover goods in his grip. 

With the two taller men in tow, Yugi began to walk towards the plane, only to pause when the footfalls to his right quieted.

Yugi glanced over his shoulder to see that Jou had fallen still, standing tall behind him with brown strands waving in the light breeze. 

Yugi turned halfway to question him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Jou smiled at him, then gestured with a little wave to the person sitting behind the glass in the cockpit of the plane, who Yugi hadn't noticed until now. "That's Merrill," Jou explained. "He's a pilot I used to work with a few years ago. Back in the day, I caught him dealin' in some illegal shenanigans, smugglin' drugs. I almost turned him in... but never actually did. As you can imagine, he owes me pretty big." Jou lifted his chin. "So, he's payin' that debt today. He'll get you far away from here."

"Wait. What?" Yugi turned to face him fully now. "What do you mean? You're not coming with us?"

Jou shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Yug'. This is where we part ways."

Yugi responded with a shake of his head. "No," he said. "Why would - ?"

"I know you might not get it now, but I think... it was meant to be this way. Despite everythin'... I'm happy that I got to do this for you... that I could help you, for once. But I think that my part is now done. You and Atem... you gotta figure out what's next for you two on your own. And I gotta figure out what comes next for me." Jou smiled at him. "I'm glad... that it worked like this."

"But..." Yugi grasped. "They'll come for you," he said. 

"Nah, I'll cover my tracks. I got my own plane waitin' for me a bit a ways. I'll be out of here, soon, too. I'm thinkin' about visitin' the islands myself and workin' on this tan."

"But - "

And for the second time in as many days, Yugi found himself blinking, long and hard. 

" _Yugi._ "

Atem was behind him now, hand on his shoulder, and Yugi looked up at him, ready to plead with him.

"We have to go, Yugi," Atem said, softly, and only then did Yugi realize that this had been the plan all along.

Jou's chapter in his life was coming to a close, and everyone already knew it. 

By the time Jou had opened his arms, Yugi was inside of them. Jou squeezed him tight, and it reminded the younger of the bear hugs Jou used to give him back when they were teenagers, back when Yugi would whine at the elder's teasing. 

But that was a different time, and there were never tears back then.

"Are you sure you can't come with us?" Yugi asked into the fabric of his shirt. 

"I'm sure," Jou said, and Yugi relented under the premise that he would never attempt to control another person's will. "Goodbye, Yug'," he whispered into his ear.

"Goodbye, Jou," Yugi said, just as quiet, as if they were sharing one last secret with one another. 

Jou released his grip, and Yugi stepped back into Atem's atmosphere, and hoped it would be enough to ground him. 

Atem and Jou caught each other's gaze.

Atem nodded, strong and full of gratitude. "Thank you," he said. 

Jou wiped at his eyes and grinned at him. "No," he said. "Thank _you_."

And with one last look at them both, Jou returned to the car and stepped into the driver's side. The engine came back to life with a small roar and, a moment later, the car began to drive away, down a graveled road, into the setting of the sun, into a mauve and scarlet sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the long awaited (as all the chapters are) 20th chapter, with only an epilogue remaining. 
> 
> Small backstory into this chapter, I originally had this chapter completely outlined and nearly written, back in like December or something. And then.... I lost it. I still don't know how, but one day I tried to find it to work on it, and it wasn't saved anywhere (BACKUP UR WORK #idiot). I don't know if any of you writers have ever lost a nearly completed chapter before, but it was....massively discouraging... I just couldn't imagine sitting down and starting all over again. 
> 
> But, I finally did. Hopefully, the epilogue will be posted soonish, and we can finally put this story to rest. 
> 
> Thanks for sticking by me this long, guys.


End file.
